My normal has been very different than it was last year. A closet, American food and AC just begin the list of things that I once considered normal, but no longer are these days. So, for fun, here is a list of completely normal things that I experience on a regular basis:
-Having 3 different currencies in my wallet and not knowing which one will actually buy my snacks. Haha
– Finding at least 3 bugs in the shower every day (usually spiders)
– Sometimes deciding not to kill said bugs and just showering in their company
– Paying 4xs a regular taxi fare because you’re American
– Forgetting the correct exchange rate
– Ants biting you/cockroaches crawling on you while in your bed
– Sweating all the time
-Being a minority
– Frequently running out of water (no showers, flushing toilet, laundry, etc)
– Electricity shutting off randomly, sometimes for multiple hours or days at a time
-Toilets without toilet seats
– Washing laundry in a buckets
– Hang drying clothes
– Having to use Google translate to order anything
– Choosing between the same 5 outfits each day (makes it much easier, haha)
– Wearing the same outfit 3 days in a row to cut down on laundry
– Mosquito bites ALL of the time
– Checking and being checked for lice every evening
– Coating hair in olive oil every day to keep said lice away
– Sleeping with a plastic sack on my head to suffocate lice
– Going into public with olive oil in hair still
– Sharing the bathroom with at least 5 other people, but normally 20 other people
-Leading worship
– Sleeping on the floor
-Buying meat from people selling it on the side of the road (and having no idea how long it’s been there)
– Ads on my phone in every language except English
– Responding to the native languages’ word for “white person.”
– Being offered all kinds of interesting foods ranging from shark meat, to a chicken head, to a caterpillar to tiny freeze dried fish and everything in between
– Having to manually flush the toilet (by pouring water into it)
– Having to pay to use a public restroom
– No toilet paper in the restrooms
– Cold showers
– Using a bucket to shower
– Using a hose attached to a bathroom wall to shower
– Wearing the same pair of shoes every single day
– Getting in a car without actually knowing where we’re going
– Preaching
– Being asked to preach the day of
– Preaching with a translator
– Preaching with a translator who knows very little English
– Eating the same food every single day and sometimes multiple times a day
– Having scheduled time to hang out with the people you live with
– Being intentional about giving feedback to the people you live with
– Having to be driven to/picked up from everywhere
– Never knowing what the next day holds- what you will be doing/where you will be going
-Never being alone
– Strangers asking to take pictures with you (or just taking them of you as you walk by)
– Sitting in teachings/services/meetings in a different language (with no translator)
– Having to eat far more food than you want, so as not to appear rude
– Being offered food while you’re still eating food
– Being offered food right after you finish eating food
– Being surrounded by people who encourage you to become more like Jesus
Though some of these things can get frustrating, I really believe I’m going to miss them one day (though maybe not too soon). This has been an incredible year with many opportunities I may never have again. I am thankful for the time I’ve had here, for the people that have helped me to grow and for the things I have learned about the world and our Lord.
See y’all in just two weeks, friends!
