As we near the end of ministry in Honduras, it is that time again. It's time for You Know You're on the World Race When: Month Two Edition.
You know you're on the World Race when:
You bathe in the river more than in the shower.
Your clothes take an hour to handwash…and 4 days to dry because it won't. stop. raining.
You begin to get used to your teammates' nighttime noises, including teeth grinding, sudden sleeptalking(yelling) outbursts, and…shall we say…flatulence.
Shopping at the grocery store, with giant inflatable dancing chickens, ear piercing music, and pushing past/stepping over people is business as usual.
You realize that beans are to Central America as rice is to Asia.
Even if you don't really eat it much in the States, peanut butter and ketchup become like gold.
It's normal for a dog or a cat to waltz in during a church service.
You realize the incredible hospitality of Hondurans as they cook every meal for you, give up their eating space, and wait to eat until you are done.
You get to use the internet once a week, and have to ride 45 minutes one way to get it. But it is so incredibly freeing (and surprisingly easy) to live without it.
Nighttime excursions to the outside bathrooms are always an adventure. You may step in a mud puddle, you may see many spiders on the wall inside the stall, and you may even have a frog friend jump out of the toilet.
You feel like you are up SO late, then you look at your watch and realize it is only 9:15.
You hike an hour and a half to get to a waterfall, then you are crazy enough to swim in the water when it is in the 50 or 60 degrees.
You gain a new appreciation for farmers when you spend a morning picking and shucking corn in chest high weeds. And even though you have seen hundreds of bugs, and gotten attacked by ants, it is still somehow fun.
You don't have to consciously choose joy anymore. Practice becomes habit becomes second nature. 🙂
Don't have a toilet brush to clean out the toilet after it gets clogged? No problem. Take the handtowel you brought. Tear it in half. Tie it to the end of a stick. Ready to scrub. We Racers are resourceful.
As always, BMs (bowel movements) are cause for celebration.
You start to think, and speak, in Spanglish. Including during team time, when you accidentally answer "Si!" to your teammate.
Spanish mistakes like, "Mucho gusto papas fritas!" (you thought you were saying I really like french fries, but actually said nice to meet you french fries!), or "Viente dolores" (trying to say $20, and you really said twenty pains), become the hilarious joke between you and your host family.
Your van/bus has to literally swerve diagonally across the road over and over to avoid the potholes (more like carholes, they are so huge), in the road. And you gain new appreciation for your state's department of transportation. Shout out to MoDOT.
You realize one day that the red dot that appeared on your arm that morning now has a worm growing in it. Proceed to freak out. Try to hold back tears and more freaking out as you ask your host family what to do. They apply magic cream. It goes away by the end of the day. Crisis averted.
You say, "I'm kind of stinky. I need to shower tomorrow." Your teammate asks, "Didn't you just shower yesterday?" Like it is excessive.
You see an old Honduran woman walking down the street wearing the same dinosaur shirt that you have in your closet at home.
You have fallen so in love with the country and people, it is hard to think about leaving.
