You know you're in the bush when…
- children must literally run beside the bus to show the driver the way to the village.
- the driver gets out of the bus to find a path to drive down so we don't get stuck in the mud.
- the driver asks directions from a man on a bicycle.
- you wake up to a symphony of animal sounds, such as donkeys, chickens, roosters, sheep, goats.
- donkeys "hee-haw" so loudly that they sound like they're dying.
- the village has a hyena trap and shows you how to set it.
- you hear a hyena in the field at night.
- there are no toilets, only an outhouse with a single hole in the ground. We call it a "squatti."
- church lasts about two and a half hours because some people have long distances to travel to get there.
- men sleep outside our tents to "protect the white people."
- the pastor runs a generator to have electricity for three light bulbs.
- kids love having their pictures taken so they can see what they look like.
- women have ear lobes with holes big enough to fit a bottle cap through.
- not everyone speaks Swahili, Kenya's official language, but a tribal language instead.
- non-Christian men have at least two wives.
- you must walk several miles to visit one home.
- a woman breast feeds suddenly in front of you.
- your bus passes zebras, giraffes, gazelle, impalas, warthogs, and baboons on the way to the village.
- there are more goats or sheep per household than people in the entire village.
- your teammate (Kirsten) adopts a hedgehog as a pet.
- all of the indigenous people have brown teeth.
- children point at your freckles in amazement.
- a mother has her children feel your white skin and smooth hair.
- there are chickens and chicks in the living room.
- being within seeing distance of your camp is considered "close" or "almost there."
- there is a stampede of animals outside your window.
- the road turns to squishy mud during a rain storm.
- the diet of the natives mostly consists of corn and beans (occasionally lamb or goat).
- not showering for six days is perfectly acceptable behavior.
- a baby camel enters the church during service and goes "blahhh!" at the top of its lungs.
