It’s hard for me to pick a favorite part of the race so far. I think a very valid choice would be the moment that I actually saw someone slip and absolutely eat it on a banana peel. Like yes it’s always been a cliche, cartoon, goofy myth/urban legend, but last week I witnessed one of my squad members step on a banana peel and proceed to slip and fall pretty hard. Honestly I’m unaware of what happened next because I had my eyes closed in a fit of laughter. Let alone the highlight of my trip so far, it was probably the highlight of my life. What percent of people reading this have actually witnessed this happen before, not many I’m going to assume. Over 400 people viewed my last post I’m guessing maybe 2 of them (besides fellow racers) have seen that happen before. It was so awesome and I’m still laughing sitting here writing about it when it happened last week.
Anyway, last night I was awakened by some screams and chatter from some of my squad mates. An early time for most of us to go to sleep here is 10-11; I went to sleep at 11 because I was tired and I wake up at 6 every morning to run with Bo and then do a strength exercise routine in hope of maintaining some physical fitness. The room I’m staying in has 2 separate sections, Elijah, Jackson, and I are in one and Rodrigo is in the other. Because I’m one of the only racers that actually wakes up before 9 on a regular basis, I was the only one trying to sleep at the time. The one large light in the room is broken, and when the switch is flipped it just obnoxiously flickers like a slow trippy strobe light. Well, I had been asleep for roughly an hour and a half when I hear people shouting and screaming and just making a lot of noise, which is irritating when you’re trying to sleep. On top of the noise, the light was flashing because someone turned it on. Not gonna lie, I’m a person who loves sleep (I’m not the most fun person to be around when I’m tired) and I woke up thinking who in the world could possibly be this inconsiderate while I’m trying to sleep; I was a little pissed. I was very confused at first as well, I could hear Rodrigo and Elijah saying things with hints of fear and excitement, like “Give me the brick!”, but then the confusing aspect adding to the chaos was the element of Jackson’s occasional screams. What eventually confirmed my suspicions was seeing a rat run through the doorway into my section of the room, followed my Elijah carrying a brick, Rodrigo, Jackson still screaming, and one of the ministry hosts holding one of his shoes. My brain wasn’t fully awake yet and animals don’t really frighten me so I was just watching the thing hop around through everyone’s gear while the others were freaking out. At one point I was awake enough to make the conscious decision to cover myself because some girls apparently were okay with inviting themselves into our private sleeping area. I was also so groggy that watching bricks being thrown around my room didn’t even phase me in the sense that maybe I should tell someone to stop hurling them into my gear where there could potentially be something damageable and important. I still have vivid images of the host jumping around my tent attacking it with his shoe, but everything was hit and miss before it ran into the bathroom. Once it got in there they shut the door and I heard a couple thumps and whops and they finally emerged holding the rat by the tail with some fluid draining from its mouth. Eventually everyone left and I could sleep again, but my last memory before falling asleep was someone telling Rodrigo to throw it into the girl’s room over the door and then eventually hearing some shrieks. I did hear some stories in the morning of what happened before and after my encounter including an alleged resurrection but those aren’t my stories to tell. I’m sure you’ll read about it from others as well.
In terms of my general well being things are going great. I’ve been very healthy the whole time, even with adjusting to the food. I guess as much as I complain about my mom making meals like Kung-Pao chicken, I’m grateful that she would make a diverse amount of foods so I’m not coming off a gross American diet. The team is doing well with the ministry and the good work we’re doing here. I love our hosts and playing volleyball and bonding with all of them. My biggest issue with this place is the bugs and the amount of tiny black beetles that swarm us and the compound at night. I spent a majority of the work time yesterday using aerosol cans and flaming cardboard to torch where they were burrowing into the structure. It was fun but ultimately futile because even more came back over night. There are more black beetles where we stay than there are people in India. Another issue with bugs that I’m having is with bees. This awesome floral shirt that my girlfriend gave me (which I look great in) attracts bees who mistake it for real flowers; I’m currently being bothered by one while trying to write this. Anyways that’s how my life’s going and we’ve got one more week until we leave for debrief in Nepal. I’ll try and post pictures here but it’s easier with Facebook and Instagram so if you want to see more pictures and more frequent pictures you can friend me or follow me.
