You Know You're A Peace Corps Volunteer In Africa When...

• ·         Walking around holding a roll of toilet paper seems like a completely normal thing to do.
• ·         Sitting under a tree watching goats graze counts as a productive day.
• ·         You stare when you see a white person you DON”T know
• ·         The length of time it takes you to walk anywhere is wholly dependent on how many people happen to be in their yards along the way.[ They WILL stop what they’re doing to talk to you and have a conversation.]
• ·         You think hemlines are shocking but toplessness is not.
• ·         Two weeks, three countries, and three changes of clothes in a small backpack seems about right.
• ·         There is a rooster you would like to kill. If only he wasn’t dangerously close to your size [and he wasn’t your daily alarm clock.]
• ·         You are stuck in an overcrowded bus for hours in 120 degree heat and no one is willing to open the windows for fear of catching the flu.
• ·         When walking down the street, small children shout, “white person” and point at you but if you walk towards them, they run away screaming in terror.
• ·         When buying clothes you think, “How hard will these be to wash in a bucket?”
• ·         Showering everyday seems like a decadent vacation.
• ·         You live in an almost constant state of existential anxiety about whether or not you are [riding/walking] on the wrong side of the road no matter which side you happen to be on.
• ·         You’re cognizant of being the worst dressed person in your village. You don’t care.
• ·         If you had to choose whether you would rather lose your passport or your adaptor, you would choose the passport.
• ·         30 km is considered a pretty short distance.
• ·         You don’t think twice about going potty in a plastic bag at night as a way of avoiding leaving your hut/home.
• ·         You have so many random bags when you travel that you look like a gypsy.
• ·         You will drink/enjoy anything that is cold.
• ·         If you’re taking public transport and your lap is empty, there is always room for more people.
• ·         You immediately lose your ability to estimate distances and waving your hand toward a certain place is considered giving directions.
• ·         Basically, you have no shame. You can never act more crazy than your African counterparts already think you are.
• ·         Spiders are no longer the enemy but your trusted ally in the constant battle of bugs.
• ·         You lost track of how many marriage proposals you’ve received.
• ·         You distinguish between your Peace Corps family and your American family.
• ·         Those eggs have been sitting out in the sun all day. “Sure, I’ll take two.”
• ·         You realize that every village must have its tokin’ crazy person.
• ·         You stare at foreign tourists as much as the locals.
• ·         When you actually realize you miss having a salad.

These are actually taken from 2 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who were assigned to Africa, one of them who was also in Botswana. This gives you some insight to what I have personally experienced and continue to experience. My fellow Peace Corps volunteers will probably understand and appreciate it more than friends back home but I decided to share it with all of you because it is funny and very true. I hope you all enjoyed it. If you have any questions, please ask. If your question is, “Seriously?” the answer is “yes.” Don’t judge.