Two of my last three months were spent living in a village in Cambodia and Nepal, and I felt that I should share some of the knowledge I have gained from such experiences with future Racers. Enjoy!!!
1. 1. Love the beasts.
And by beasts, I mean all the different kinds of animals. Because they will be everywhere. We are talking from lizards and frogs who
like to share your bed to chickens and ducks that will walk underneath the
table as you eat. Animals are not
contained overseas. You will share the
road with goats and cows and water buffalos and oxen and who even knows what
that thing is. And with all these
animals, there comes a lot of smells including that wonderful one of poop. Which you will smell all the time. And step in quite a few times if you arent
careful at night.
2. 2. Embrace the dirt. It will be everywhere and on everything. There arent paved roads in these kinds of
places. And if you arent visiting in
rainy season, the air will be full of dust from any kind of travel. And you will get it in your lungs, on your
body, and over every single thing you own.
It is impossible to get away from it.
So you have to learn to just go with it.
Being clean isnt the most important thing in the world. (Also, I am the first to admit that this is
the hardest one for me. Even after 11
months.)
3. 3. Just eat it.
People like to cook for you. And
if you are in a village, the chances are really good that cooking conditions
arent the easiest or the best. And food
can often be hard to come by. So if they
offer it to you, recognize it as the act of sacrifice and sign of respect that
it is. Just eat it. Even if is looks strange, smells horrible, or
tastes awful. You put that in your mouth
and chew and do the absolute best you can to keep a pleasant face. Because they will be watching to see how you
react. And the last thing you want to do
is offend someone who is trying to do so much for you. And who knows, you might
be really surprised and actually love the taste of it. (FYI fermented horse milk does not fall into that pleasantly surprised category.)
4. 4. Everyone smells like mildew. You will inevitably have to do laundry at
some point. And you will be hand washing
it. And then you will have to hang it up
to dry. And 90% of the time that will be
outside. And it will most likely be
humid or rain at some point during the drying process. So your clothes will most likely never dry
completely and smell. But you will get
used to it or invest in a whole lot of Febreeze before the Race and lug it
around all year. And don’t worry if you often daydream of washers and driers. It is normal.
5. 5. Personal space is a fairy tale. You will live in the same room with your
team. You will probably sleep 6 or 7
deep. And everyones stuff will explode
all over the space. You will hit each
other as you move in your sleep. And
things will get lost in the chaos. You need
to change clothes? You will do it in that room with everyone else. (Im talking
all girls teams here) And if you want quiet time, you will put headphones in
and turn your body so you cant see anyone else. Its just the World Race bush life.
6. 6. Mastering the Real Squat challenge. Two words.
Squatty Potty. Ill just let you
use your imagination for that one while remembering that new food and new
places often tend to bring stomach issues along with them.
7. 7. Where did all the water go? So one of the best things feelings on the
Race is arriving at your bush location and seeing running water. And even better if that running water is in
an enclosed space that can be used for a shower. Its a glorious feeling. But without fail, at some point in the month,
or multiple times, that running water is going to inevitably stop. Whether that is after a workout, after your
body is covered in soap, or at a much more convenient time, the water will
suddenly disappear. And you will have to
learn to get creative and rely on the buddy system. Someone will pump that well for you. You just might have to be patient. But someone will eventually notice you never
came back from your shower.
8. 8. Be one with nature. Most of your day will be spent outside. Ministry, quiet time, meals, using the
facilities. Its most likely out in the
open air. So you learn to really look
for the beauty in Creation. Especially when
it is raining as you try to walk to the squatty or brushing your teeth with a
water bottle as the animals and bugs come to see what you are doing. In a strange way, you will learn to love it
and miss it when you are back to living life inside.
9. 9. Make it a game or go insane. Bugs.
They are everywhere and in everything.
Im talking those devil mosquitoes, incredibly annoying flies, and eat
everything ants. I can tell you horror
stories. But I wont. Because you will have your own stories. And you will quickly learn to make it a game
to get rid of them or you will go insane.
Roll up something and go hunting for flies. Have a competition to see how many mosquitoes
you can kill while you shower. Make noises as you squish the ants eating
through your stuff. Dont let the bugs
defeat you.
10. Living in the Yup. Bush life. It comes with new experiences and lots of language
barriers. You arent going to know where
you are going or what you are doing. But
I can promise you that it will be interesting in one way or another. And you are going to make memories and laugh
with your teammates at the ridiculousness of the situation. Its called living
in the Yup. What does that actually
mean? Yup.
