25 Things that have become normal

I am sitting in my apartment hearing the guards laughing and joking, the fruit lady bargaining her prices on the corner, and the constant honking of horns as the morning traffic starts to increase. The birds and insects are chirping and I can hear the generator being started for the Printing Press next door (power has just left us) …… it has all become a common soundtrack. So many other things have become normal to me, which would have seemed crazy 9 months ago and might seem strange to you so I have tried to spell some out…

Welcome to life in Africa!

25 things that have become totally normal

(Thanks to Bridget Lawrence for the idea!)

1. Filtering all water for drinking and brushing teeth

2. Watching lizards leaping away from my feet as I walk around

3. Greeting every passer by in Hausa

4. Changing my intonation when I speak to Nigerians to be better understood

5. Having someone else do my housework every week

6. Almost being knocked to my feet as I enter the orphanage by kids running towards me to give me hugs.

7. Living with other missionaries from all over the world

8. Men wearing lace and hot pink

9. Expecting the unexpected on the road

10. Having no running water when the pump breaks (frequently!)

11. Yelling in celebration when the electricity returns after hours or days without it!

12. Being called ‘Auntie’ all the time

13. Bleaching all my fresh fruit and vegetables

14. Counting money in 1000s

15. Having to avoid certain areas or town and stay on the compound on Friday afternoons in case of unrest due to the Muslim times of prayer

16. Wearing skirts and covered shirts wherever I go

17. Being in the minority and sticking out everywhere

18. Never accepting a first price, bartering for produce in the markets and feeling ripped of I paid more because I am white!

19. Wearing a head scarf to church

20. Receiving gorgeous hand written notes from the kids at Gyero

21. Dreaming of fresh milk

22. Eating and enjoying Nigerian food

23. Hearing the Muslim call to prayer every morning at 4am.

24. People using their arms out their car window to signal instead of their indicators

25. Queuing for over an our to fill my gas tank with petrol