Today marks exactly 3 months of being in Uganda (Sunday marked 3 months since I left Chicago). Craziness, right? Well, in light of that craziness, I present to you... this post. Enjoy.
You know you've been in africa for 3 months when…
-the phrase "good night sleep tight don't let the bed bugs bite." is a legitimate term.
-random men profess their love for you while you're on the back of a boda. "mzungu, mzungu i love you so much!"
-pinterest makes you sad… because Uganda doesn't have cheese, or good chocolate, or cold weather.
-your days are filled with more snuggles than imaginable.
-you've got a pretty sweet watch tan line on your wrist.
-shaving your legs is now considered optional.
-"ohh. sorry for you." is a term you use quite frequently, and you're not being sarcastic when you say it.
-your toothbrush smells like mold, but you use it anyway.
-you get susu-ed on, and you don't care.
-you walk in the gate and the sound of "auntie! auntie!" as kids come running and screaming brings a smile to your face, because you are home.
-every night ends with "1… 2… 3…" Walter kisses.
-there's ants in the sugar, but you're so over that.
-you find yourself holding a little girl in church, rocking back and forth to the music, wondering how in the world you're going to leave this place in just 3 short months.
-the water shutting off during the middle of your shower is nothing new.
-your tennishoes look like this:
-your cellphone has a torch on it. and you've used it countless times.
-dance parties happen on a daily basis.
-me typing "ongea mama" just made you smile.
-waking up to silence is a thing of the past.
-you're constantly connecting and disconnecting your internet to read and write emails (and you have have dreams about it before).
-minutes feel like years and weeks feel like seconds. you're living in a time warp.
-you can buy a pineapple for 90 cents but cereal costs $12.
-you stare 2 seconds longer than you should when you see blonde haired, blue eyed mzungu kids.
-you eat 1/2 a bag of m&m's in one sitting, and don't feel guilty about it.
-you have susu on your skirt, and don't change.
-you wear the same shirt for 8 days in a row.
-one look at this kid's face, and any sort of time-out you needed to put him in so not gonna happen.
-cockroaches come out of the table, and that's a normal thing.
-Reese's cups are more valuable than gold.
-you kill at least 10 ants on your arms in one day.
-you eat your dinner off a mickey mouse plate with a baby spoon every night.
-you shower next to the toilet.
-"we are clicking casinets. C… C… C…" is stuck in your head for 24 hours straight.
-this is pretty standard and typical:
-you say things like, "It's a beautiful day to burn medical waste."
-you hop a random boda home and when you give him directions to Ekisa, he says, "I know! I know, Madame. We've been this way many times before." Ooops.
-instant coffee and powdered coffee creamer are the best thing that's ever happened to your life.
-one day you cry because you're so homesick. and the next day you cry because you cannot imagine leaving this place.
*picture*
-the same child shows you a very minor cut a dozen times a day, if not more.
-you look up in the shower and see 8 geckos on the walls.
-your car game isn't punch buggy or the license plate game or banana, it's mzungu!
-after being away from the house all day, all you can think about is getting back to those kiddos. not seeing them for 10 hours make you miss 'em something awful.
-you learn mosquito nets keep out more than just mosquitos- they keep out cockroaches and geckos and flying-creepy-bugs as well.
-60 degrees means bundle up in yoga pants and a hoodie and wool socks. no joke.
-your boda drives through a herd of cows on your way to the Nile, and you're quite certain -as you sit on the back gripping your friend's t-shirt, inches away from humongous cows with humongous horns- that this is how your life is going to end.
-you spend a 3-hour-long car ride wondering how you can have an American and Ugandan life without having to sacrifice people or plans or futures or comforts or purpose.
-you realize your heart will forever be in two places at the same time.
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