Saturday, March 30, 2013

To Miss or Not To MIss


Reflecting on my time here, it seems that with more and more frequency lately I find myself beginning a thought with “I certainly won’t miss [insert random something]” which is usually closely followed by “Oh my goodness I can’t wait for [insert another random something]!!!!” 

So considering my organized math brain is in full force here, I’ve made a table for you. Here you have it, the things I will NOT miss, what I seriously cannot wait for…and to shed a little positive light on the situation, I suppose there are aspects of most situations that I might actually miss. If you can't tell, i've been compiling this list for quite some time now...


I will NOT miss…
I can’t wait for…
I guess I might miss…
Washing my hair in a bucket with only 6 cups of water (once a week I should add)
Regular access to a private, clean, hot shower!
The warm afternoons when I can bathe outside, or those fun times when I’ve showered in the rain
Spending hours laboring over stubborn charcoal to cook dinner every day
An oven! Perhaps a microwave too. Maybe a blender? but let’s not get too crazy here
Our jiko. But only maybe.
Scrubbing my clothes clean by hand or carrying them to be washed by a local woman
A washing machine
…nothing about this…do you want to scrub the dirt out of your socks??
Steri-penned water
A faucet
Our beautiful makeshift bucket with a tap
Our lack of a plug to charge anything
A reliable plug that’s nearby (anywhere closer than 50km will do)
The joy of checking email and fb once a week, it’s so much more exciting!
Eating in the dark
A light bulb
A reason to have nightly candlelight dinners
Being dependent on others to travel anywhere
A car
My personal piki driver, Furaha!
The constant language barrier
Normal communication with people
The beauty of the Swahili language
Only having access to food one time per week
A grocery store
Our walk to the market through the mountains
Skirts to my ankle
JEANS!
…nothing about my wardrobe
Having to wrap myself in fabric every time I answer the door
Wearing shorts outside!
…again, nothing about this
The daily workout of squatting to wash dishes or cook dinner
An actual workout…zumba, a run (wearing shorts), or going to the gym
Afternoon nap time
Literally no sanitation of anything
Standard household cleaners and normal soap
My apparently strong immune system
The very unreliable mail system here
A post office
The simple joy of finally receiving a package 2 months after it was sent
Living creatures everywhere, many of which are potentially quite dangerous
Not having bats in my ceiling or being bit by unknown bugs in my bed every night
The thrill of passing within 2 feet of giant cattle with huge horns on my way to school
Having to search our house, climb the mountain, or stick my head out the window to get cell phone service
THROWING MY PHONE OUT THE WINDOW! Or maybe just actual honest-to-goodness cell phone reception
The *beep* that accompanies the “message sending failed” that I receive multiple times a day…or not!
Internet connections that take over 20 minutes to load one page
A reliable WI-FI connection
My Vodacom dongle. We’ve shared some quality time together

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