Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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So I wanted to write a blog to all of you about the day in the life of a World Racer here in Africa, sort of fun fact style. I am just going to kind of write about some of the over all experiences that I have had thus far on the race so that you can have a kind of cool image of what we see on a normal day. Yay for fun blogs!! 🙂 It will be sort of sparatic, (don’t know if that’s how you spell lol), so bare with me.

 

-travel days…ahhhh travel days. These are such great days because literally this is when you are able to just sort of zen out and plug your headphones in, plus, you get a lot of opportunity for better wifi..(especially when you’ve been in Africa where wifi is basically non existent!) Wifi is a rarity around these parts, let me tell you! Lol

-you learn to be fearless in walking up to strangers, and playing charades when trying to talk to them.

-learning the local languages become one of your main goals, and learning the people’s names is a huge challenge also, but gosh dang it..you get it down after a week of repetition or so!

-I have become very good at getting the perfect ration of instant coffee and sugar scoops in order to make the perfect cup of coffee, plus you learn to drink it black if you don’t have sugar and instant creamer as an option! (Yes..I said it mom!)

-hitchhiking is completely normal, and sooo. much. fun!!

-you catch yourself forgetting which currencies you are converting around month 3..(where I am at right now)

-you learn to ration the water that you are able to get in bottles, because the water is either full of salt, or bacteria and viruses.. yummy..

-you get really used to constantly having people around you at all times, whether that be your other squad mates, the locals, or the kids that just want to climb all over you and love you because they think that you’re the next best thing since mangos and Cadbury chocolate bars!

-speaking of Cadbury chocolate bars…. Hershey’s.. you ain’t got NOTHIN on Cadbury. They are literally God’s gift to Africa.

-You learn to never throw toilet paper into the toilets, it only goes into the trash can, otherwise you end up with toilets that no longer work and having to dig out the plumbing and fix the toilets. (The smell is not one you ever need to smell).

-You learn very quickly the art of “squattie potties” (it’s actually quite great for your digestive tract). You also learn to breathe through your mouth, in short gasps..just sayin.. lol

-Cold bucket showers are actually quite refreshing and nice when you have spent an entire day sweating like a pig and being coated nice and evenly with a fine layer of dirt that turns to mud on your skin as you sweat. Lol the African heat ain’t for sissys, let me tell you!

 

-There are bugs and spiders the size of tennis balls, oh and scorpions that can kill you in less than a minute. Soooo, there’s that. Fun times, so your tent becomes your friend. I slept in a tent all last month and was thankful because it was my only controlled environment.

-People here are incredibly kind and so friendly. They are always looking for ways to serve you, and they take so much pride in all that they have and the way that they carry themselves.

-Hope is the most important thing that I have found the people hold on to.

-Surprisingly, cooking for 30 people at one time isn’t as hard as it may seem! We just got a system going, and if everyone does their part, it gets done with no issue!

-Thunderstorms are VERY common here in Africa, and they don’t play around! They are INTENSE! The same goes for when it rains. The old saying, when it rains it pours is an understatement here! (Word of advice, make sure you don’t tent where it could flood.)

-You learn to wash laundry with your hands, a bucket, and some laundry soap!

-You also learn to not leave your clothes outside over night to dry on the clothes hanger because….bot flies…(look them up guys…they are a thing here). :/

-Feedback is something we cherish here living in community. It’s a good way for us to help each other highlight our blind spots and to help each other grow and mature.

-Peanut butter and Oreos= LIFE

-Women carrying things on their heads is completely common and so amazing to see!!

-It is an insult here to show your knees, but breasts are not an insult for the women here to show.. crazy I know!

-You get really used to having no wardrobe, and literally doing the “smell test” for your clothes instead of basing it off of if they are clean or not. Lol, if they don’t stink like sweat or mildew..you can pretty much get a good 3 wears out of things.. EXCEPT for underwear and socks of course. Lol, don’t worry, I didn’t become that gross!!

 

Sooooo, there ya have it folks! There is a little snippet of what life has been like for me on the day to day of living here in Africa. It’s not easy in the least bit, and these are all just the physical things of our day to day life. There is so much about doing this thing called the World Race that is so incredibly hard emotionally and physically. But it has been SO AMAZING also. If you are thinking of doing the World Race, please don’t let anything I said scare you, because I promise you it’s so worth it.