28 Signs I Might Be Living Overseas

      1.      I set a goal for Myself while jogging: If I can only make it to that goat.

2.      Everyone speaks more languages than I do.

3.      I have partaken of creatures I would normally not consume by choice, e.g. fish eyes, grasshoppers, and the like.

4.      People dispose of trash by simply throwing it out the window.

5.      A healthy percentage of my most delightful friends were born a hemisphere away from where I was.

6.      I avoid unfiltered water like the Plague. Because I’m pretty sure I've seen the Plague in there.

7.      My pothole-per-mile ratio exceeds 136:1.

8.      The concept of "home" feels bewildering.

9.      I answer to a wide variety of names that sound entirely different than the one I've answered to for the majority of my adult life.

10.  Fruit and other materials labeled "exotic" in my home country are available at that little wooden stand down the street.

11.  My children asked for a raise in their allowance based on the increasing value of the dollar.

12.  My electrical company is perpetually listed in my phone's recent contacts.

13.  Sometimes home feels like camping.

14.  Despite the lack of familiarity, there is something about the place I live that makes I feel so...alive.

15.  I adopt an accent when speaking, say, at the supermarket.

16.  My suitcase is filled with odd items, like 6 of the same deodorant, 18 months of underwear for six people, eight pounds of chocolate chips, and 12 jars of B vitamins. My carry-on is where I stash the Hot Tamales and six packs of Slim Jims.

17.  People attempt to compliment me by calling me “fat”, or in regards to my status, a “big woman.” …Yeah. Thanks.

18.  Ants in my home don't even capture my attention anymore unless in vast quantities or floating in my drink.

19.  The last trip to the States found me saying, "What in the world is 'Apple TV'?"

20.  I are content with my "dumb" phone, because pretty much everyone else has one, and if it falls in the toilet (or pit latrine) I can afford to replace it.

21.  Cops stop me because I are more likely to be a source of cash.

22.  "I'll Be Home for Christmas" gets me all sniffy.

23.  My bed is shrouded in netting, but somehow my arms and legs still have telltale welts of those little (literal) suckers.

24.  I keep toilet paper in my glove box. Because public toilets, when I can find them, are BYO TP.

25.  I give up asking for decaffeinated coffee, because people don't really know what that is (or why you would drink it), nor do they have it.

26.  I can pronounce all of the ingredients in my food.

27.  I am feeling a whole lot more deft with the metric system lately.

28.  My employer contemplates sending out regular deworming reminders via e-mail.

 

Time for some help with my list! If you've been overseas, what would you add?

 

Life in Photo, Summer 2015

We know so many strong, lovely Ugandan women! Pictured here left to right is H., who stays with some EMI staff; Hope, John's Human Resources Assistant, and Oliver the Great.

Marriage can be remarkably difficult in Uganda in light of the expense to honor family and tradition (and to express status)--as in, as much as an American wedding. We've also heard that only one quarter of pastors are authorized to perform marriages by the government. Most Ugandans "marry" by cohabiting. So EMI was very proud of construction foreman Richard Tatyabala for formalizing his vows in marriage to his wife, Lydia!

 

Ugandans don't mess around when it comes to weddings! Pictured here is the wife and daughter of our finance manager, Semei.

A good number of our EMI construction workers turned out for the wedding, all spiffed up! They're pictured here with one of our construction managers, Jay.

L-R: Brittany, our highly talented office manager; S., one of our kids' close friends; and her dad, Steve, who pioneered our construction management program.

Making pottery at a local pottery studio that trains Africans in this art. You can read about my thoughts on this deeply rewarding experience here.

You might be living overseas if...your son has a preference for termites over grasshoppers as a snack.

Intriguingly, we'd shake them up...and then they would all travel in a circle in the same direction as before. Weird.

Though I did eat fried termites, and they were good!--I didn't try this. (I have standards.)

...So our guard, Yokanah, collected them. They're fried like grasshoppers, with onions and/or garlic; they have enough fat content that you don't even need oil! TED Talks actually says insects could be the next frontier of nutrition, since it's a such a sustainable source of protein!

While John was climbing Kilimanjaro, we had mountains of our own: of wings. This pile was in the corner of our sidewalk. Once a year, the termites perform their aerial nuptial dance, then those alates shed their wings.  

Hanging with a mzungu friend this weekend

So you may have seen the last posts' "John and Jamal" Cokes. Well, in Luganda, I've been named "Sanyu", meaning joy or great happiness. I like this. (C. is called "Mukisa," or blessing.) Finally got my Coke! Which my husband obligingly consumed.

I love how everyone in the States asked me about Oliver, aka Oliver the Great and one of my favorite all-time people. This woman saves my life on, like, a weekly basis.


 

Father's Day 2015: W. wrote "An Ode to My Dad." This included lines like, When you play with me, it feels like sunshine.

 



Dad and paparazzi





...And then she turned 8. As in, one more year until our time with her in our home is half done! Sniff. This one's lovely inside and out!

 

Look who's armed and 11?



Is anyone else's living room constantly reshuffled into forts in various forms?

 

This cutie, pictured here climbing trees with J., is one of our EMI staff kids.

 

Our East Africa office is full of BOYS! Here, we celebrate the 4th of July with friends.

 



You're always welcome here!