There are some days on the World Race that have come to seem boring, but as I was reflecting on today, I thought it funny the things that I now consider mundane. So here’s a look at a “boring” day in my life in Kyrgyzstan, on my team of 7 girls who call ourselves “Adamant Eve”.
My alarm jerks me awake. I open my eyes in my bunk bed, and look up at the tan canvas and wooden poles holding up the ceiling of the yurt. I start praying and thinking about my day. Today is going to be a travel day: we are leaving Karakol, to go spend a few days of rest at Lake Issakul, the second largest salt lake in the world.
Most girls packed the night before, but I hadn’t unpacked very much, so I decided to wait till morning. I go to the kitchen and make an improv yogurt parfait: passion fruit yogurt, walnuts, chopped dried apricot, oats, and chia seeds I found back in Taiwan in February.
We pack and sit in the lobby. Two taxis pick us up. I’m with Heidi and Ashley and after we were driving for a few minutes, the taxi driver says “taxi?”. We turn to each other confused: we’re already in a taxi?! We say “bus”. He nods. We are relieved when we arrive at the bus station and see the other girls there.
Our bus is a “Marshuka”, a large van. The trunk of the van is small, and only fits 5 of our packs, so 2 of us take them on with us. I sit down in the bus and put my 40+ pound pack on my lap. The driver tells Ashley she has to pay for another chair to put her pack on. She says no, and Heidi offers to put the pack on the floor next to her. Allie sits next to me and helps me balance my pack. We listen to podcasts together during the ride.
Every seat is taken, and in the back row are squeezed 3 women and at least 6 small children, mostly on laps. One girl is tucked between her mom’s legs on the floor. We ride for 2.5 hours. A woman with a baby has to climb over us to get out. Without saying anything, she casually hands Meghan her baby for a few seconds as she climbs over a pack. She takes the baby back and Meghan turns to us and says, “That was the highlight of my day!”
We arrive at the place our Airbnb host said he would meet us. Me and another girl run to the bushes nearby, because we can’t hold it any longer. We take turns holding a coat as a curtain. It turns out our housing is only a block away.
Our host insists on driving us to our place, even though we could have walked there in one minute. Half of us lay down for naps, me and some girls go scope out the convenience store near by. Mostly cans, ramen, candy, alcohol, bread, and dry pasta. The only meats are sausages. The only fruits or veggies are: cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions. The cashier can tell we are foreigners, and doesn’t even try speaking her native language to us. She takes out her calculator to type the totals we each owe.
Back at the house, Heidi and I go to the kitchen, and even though there is a stove top, we can’t find any pots or pans! That is a problem. I have barley I was hoping to cook and Heidi was hoping to cook eggs. She starts cooking her eggs in the microwave. I start cutting my sausage and open my can of olives with a pull tab on top. My can of corn does not have a pull tab, and I look for a can opener with no success. Our host comes by and we ask her about pots and pans, and she comes back with a pot and pan. I ask about a can opener. She goes in the drawer, pulls out a knife, stabs the lid, and cuts it open no problem. Wow!
After lunch, I pull out my guitar and play on the open stairwell overlooking the lake. The kids of the host are playing in the courtyard below, and wave at me as I’m singing, “I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a Child of God.”
Heidi and Allie come out and ask me if I want to join them on a search for a beach. We find a beach, possible trespassing in the process. We meet a man who, when he sees us, says, “Good afternoon, girls! Where are you from?” Us: “America!” Him: “That is far away from here!” He stops his gardening and walks and talks with us a little bit. On the way back we joke that we have already gotten a new dad!
Next, Heidi, Ashley, Meghan and I decide to go scope out another convenience store 10 minutes walk away. We are delighted to find a fruit and veggie stand in front of the store. I get an eggplant. In the store, I want some meat that is not sausage, so I find a precooked, vacuum-sealed chicken leg. Perfect. Delicious. The teenaged store clerk is very friendly, and as I ask her questions, I find out she is learning Japanese in addition to Russian, English, and Chinese, so we talk in Japanese for a few minutes!
After the store, we stop in a restaurant with bars on the windows. The menu is in Russian, so we scan the camera mode of our Google Translate apps over it. Meghan and I decide to head back, since we have plenty of groceries to make our own food. As we are walking, I see a head of garlic on the ground. I stop and say, “Meghan! Free garlic!” I reach down and pick it up, but quickly realize it’s rotten. Darn it. Meghan laughs, and says that I have officially reached World Racer status!
Back in the kitchen, I try to make curry. I have barley, chicken, eggplant, and broccoli. To make sauce, I mix curry powder and mayonnaise. Not ideal, but it works. There is no dish soap, and I have to wash my oily pan with only boiling water. The cleanly housekeeper inside of me is dying. We have got to find dish soap somewhere, and soon!
Allie comes by asking about a can opener. I try to demonstrate the knife technique, but take 5 minutes to get the lid off, compared to the 10 seconds of our host.
Back in the room, we watch the movie, Black Panther. There is a scene in it where there is formal party. At one point, some people walk in and the secret agents in the room radio to each other, “the Americans are here.” We joke that this is us every time we enter a new place on the World Race.
It’s time for bed, and we feel very spoiled, because the 7 of us are split into 3 rooms. We have gotten used to all sharing one room at our past hostels!
I want to encourage you to take a step back: What are some fun or funny things in your life that you don’t think much about?
