Some months back I was reading a blog by another racer where she talked about how un-flummoxed she was as she watched a rat run along a wall in the restaurant where she was eating. She shrugged and finished her naan. No big deal. I found myself nodding my head in agreement.
A teammate shared a story with me of how part of her former team had gone to do dishes at ministry; they hadn’t been able to find the soap, so they just assumed there wasn’t any, washed the dishes without it, and stacked them to dry. Their host awkwardly informed them that the other part of their team had forgotten to communicate where the soap was, and asked them to please use it next time. “We were like, ‘Okay, they just don’t use soap here.’ How weird is our life that we just naturally assumed that there was no soap?”
The answer? Not weird at all. Because the world is a weird, weird place. You just don’t realize it. By month 11, the weirdness quotient is at an all time high, because we have been thoroughly steeped in all manner of international weirdness for the better part of a year.
Some examples:
This year I have had a gecko in my shower more often than I’ve had hot water. Doesn’t matter what country you go to, outside of Europe and the USA, you can generally expect a guest in your shower.
We have joked -frequently- about gluing little crosses on the roaches and sending them out as evangelists because they’re so big. In more than one country, I might add.
I like to eat iguana. It is delicious. I actually kind of miss it. THAT IS A STATEMENT I JUST MADE ABOUT MY LIFE.
I own a pair of women’s capris and several pairs of socks, because hey, I needed new pajama pants and socks, someone was getting rid of them, and they fit. I am now on a team with the former owners of some of my clothes. We joke about it. Weird.
Sometimes you have to clean mouse turds out of the pan before you cook breakfast. Lunch consists of the part of the ramen they didn’t eat after they chewed through the plastic. You leave the door to the bathroom open so that they run outside if one is in the shower at night, and you wonder why they are eating the bar of soap by the sink (as you wash your hands with it.)
Even in the middle of nowhere, everyone seems to have a smart phone.
DURIAN FRUIT, WHICH TASTES LIKE ONIONS, IS A HUGE PART OF THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN ECONOMY. Chips, candy, and street vendors all have a durian themed product. A piece the size of a Jolly Rancher will make your gut beg for mercy, but kids love this stuff.
I currently default to chopsticks, Spanish worship lyrics, and military showers.
In many countries, the women on my squad have to explain to horror stricken nationals why they are not married at 23, yet nobody questions that the men are still single. (After we explain that no, we are not married to each other.)
I’ve become quite proficient at taking pallets apart with a machete. As I think about it, I don’t actually know how to do it any other way…
I have religiously worn my seat belt since I was a child. I have had to be reminded to put one on for three months now, because I haven’t had one consistently enough that I reach for it automatically anymore.
People speaking English is unnerving because they understand you, and you understand them. Tourist areas are like a scene out of X-Men where the telepath gets overwhelmed because she can read everyone’s minds, except it’s a crowd of people speaking English and you understand EVERYTHING happening around you.
Depending on who you catch and on what day, someone may say “thank you” in a combination of languages ranging from Nepali and German to Albanian and Spanish, and everyone understands. We sometimes don’t even use English words for things anymore.
I finally understand all those blogs people wrote about having a meltdown because they were served a specific food. If it’s not something that came from the ocean, I might go into a catatonic state if I have to eat a fish any time soon.
I have no qualms about walking into four lanes of moving traffic because I know I won’t be hit. That is a normal part of life everywhere else but at home.
And oh yeah, I got bit by an octopus yesterday. I didn’t even think that was thing that could happen.
And the weirdest part in all of this is that what is so normal for me is going to be strange when I get back, and then home will be weird too. The world is weird , and it has made me weird. Well, weirder. The family of thirty people that exists on my Squad is wonderful and weird. It’s beautiful and amazing, like everything else on this trip.
Month 12 might be the weirdest one, though, because weird is the new normal, and normal is the new weird.
