It's the Little Things...

Today marks my 102^nd day in Africa.  It alternately feels like a lifetime and like no time at all.  Often both in the same day.

Many of you have probably read some of these posts in horror, recoiling at my descriptions and anecdotes: rats in the ceiling, cold bucket showers over a feces-filled hole, the persistent buzz of mosquitoes or skittering of cockroaches when you turn on a light.  Don’t get me wrong, there are moments when these things put me on the verge of tears.  But they are also the things you learn to deal with – steel yourself against.   

Instead I have found it is the little things that I miss the most.

To all of you comfortably living in the first world, below is a list of items I want you to appreciate today….for me:

·         Cold Drinks -- It is apparently not a priority to refrigerate beverages, and since you can’t drink the water you also can’t have ice.  As we enter the African summer, this becomes more and more irritating.

·         Fluffy Towels -- I have been using the equivalent of a sham-wow for months now and although effective it is just not satisfying.

·         Outlets – You get one if you are lucky and with sporadic electricity you better strategize and prioritize. And watch out, they all spark.

·         Mirrors -- I have been relying on the self-photo mode of my iPhone for far too long.

·         Rinsing Your Toothbrush -- Yes, I pour bottled water over it but it just not as effective as a solid faucet stream. Particularly when you are trying to do it one-handed in the dark with water you have to ration.

·         Being Barefoot – Parasites outside, same mop that cleaned the pit toilets inside.

·         Food Decisions – Limited selections in South Africa aside, I have lost the ability to decide what or when I want to eat.  In Cameroon particularly, it isn’t so much the food that is challenging, it’s waiting for be cattle-called for a culinary surprise.  Sometimes you just want eggs when they give you crepes.

·         Freedom of Speech – With English being the (limited) second language, I have to constantly be cautious of world selection and phrasing.  As my sister will attest, I like to exercise my vocabular dexterity and the simplicity of speech here is stifling. 

And while you are taking a moment to appreciate creature comforts, add these to your list:

·         Faucets

·         Stoves

·         Meat

·         Cheese

·         Chocolate

·         Diet Coke

·         Trash Cans

·         Mattresses

·         Laundry Machines

·         Owning more than Three Pairs of Pants

·         Sleeping without a Mosquito Net – many a night I wake up tangled in that thing

·         Reckless Consumption of Water – what does it matter you have to pee at 10pm, it won’t be into a bucket in your room!

·         Storage and Furniture – chances are, the floor is not your only option for personal effects

·         Auditory Respect – I will never complain about people’s headphones being too loud on the train ever again.  Headphones do not appear to be in vogue here, and people are perfectly fine listening to whatever they want, wherever they want, at whatever volume strikes their fancy.  Often with multiple people doing so simultaneously.

Now don’t get me wrong.  The first thing I will do when I get back is take a long shower, order a smorgasbord of food and probably drink several bottles of wine.  But right now, I would be happy to just not have to carry my own toilet paper.