After 8 months of being on the World Race, there are some things that just become normal. Here's a list of 11 things that have become normal, in no particular order.
1. Explaining all the countries you are going to and all the ones you've been to so far.
When you are on a trip such as this, people want to know what you're doing. Whether it's your contact, or the church you're with, or the people you encounter, you are always going to tell someone each month of all the countries you are either going to or the ones you've been to.
2. Sleeping on the floor.
After 8 months, you get used to your living situations. Some months you might get a bunk bed, but don't get your expectations too high, because sleeping on the floor is always a probability each month.
3. Bugs crawling on you.
After a while, you just get tired of freaking out over bugs, especially the little guys (ants, tiny spiders, etc). You may have your freak out moment when it comes to tarantulas on the bathroom wall or cockroaches at your feet. Sometimes you even have ants crawling in your bed and in America, that would not be okay, but here on the World Race, you tend to leave it.
4. Working off of one ear bud in a set of headphones.
Somehow headphones are just not reliable on the World Race. I came on the World Race with 4 sets of headphones, bought 1 pair during month seven, and now I'm down to one pair. This pair of headphones only has one working ear bud and it only works if you have the wire in the right position.
5. Hearing "white person" in any kind of language as you are walking down the street.
Whether it's "gringo (Central America)," "farang (Thailand and Cambodia)," or "mzungu (East Africa)," you always hear it as you are walking down the street. Kids literally run to where you are just to say "mzungu!" or "gringo!" and point at you.
6. Not being able to drive.
Speaking of walking – it happens frequently on the World Race. Whether it's a few minutes, or a few miles, you are going to have to walk at some point. And if you don't want to walk, your next best bet is riding one of the three forms of transportation – a tuk tuk, a moped, or some kind of taxi. You may even find yourself riding in the back of a truck, or if you're lucky, in the contact's car if they have one.
7. Taking a bucket shower.
When there is no running water, you resort to your next best, which is a nice bucket shower. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, bucket shower. It's actually not that bad, but it makes for nice debriefs when you are able to shower like a normal person.
8. Not showering for a few days.
Sometimes it's just inconvenient to shower every day. Whether it's from a lack of clothes or just knowing that you are going to dirty yourself up again, sometimes you just don't want to shower. Sometimes you can't shower.
*For instance, in Moldova, there were many reasons why we could not bathe properly. We had no shower, our water was derived from a well and you had to walk to get it, and we only went to the creek to bathe once a week while we were there. This is where baby wipes came in handy.
9. Throwing toilet paper in the trash, rather than the toilet.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. In other countries, they prefer the trashcan rather than just putting it in the toilet. Rarely will you find a spot where you can go ahead and dispose in the toilet.
10. Eating what you are given.
When you are on a food budget, you eat what you are given and you don't really ask questions except for the occasional whisper to your teammate asking what the meat is. And if you don't want to eat what you are given, well, you may take a walk to a gas station or a road stand and your dinner becomes chips and chocolate. Most every country you visit has rice in some capacity. It may be made different, but you can count on having rice.
11. Talking about Jesus most of your day.
If you are not in a closed country, you can bet your bottom dollar you are going to talk about Jesus to every one you meet. It's obviously expected since you are on the World Race, but even your lingo becomes Jesus, God, or Holy Spirit related. You may say something along the lines of "Jesus told me to do this," or "I'm going to let the Spirit talk through me," or "Jesus, help me, that's a spider and it's on my stuff!" It's one of the best parts of this journey. Whether you get to talk about what God is doing in your life with your teammate or sharing the Gospel with a stranger, these conversations are the reason why you endure all the other 10 things that you make part of your daily life.
This is only a short list compared to all the things that become normal life here! It seems like a lot, but there's so much more, but hey, this is the World Race! You didn't sign up for normal; at least I know I didn't.
