so here are a few things i have learned in Africa,
1. you can eat fish bones with out dying ( a myth my parents instilled in me when i was little, they still don't taste good though)
2. its best to leave the key in your lock when you go to bed so you can find it in the pitch dark after you cant find your flashlight and need to get out of your room in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom all the while doing the "i have to go to the bathroom" shuffle.
3. don't lose your flash light at night or you might pee your pants while trying to find it.
4. I am way more blessed than i ever knew
5. it really is easier to see Africans at night if they are smiling.
6. I am way too dependent on electricity and my stupid computer and internet
7. Roads are amazing, so very very amazing
8. Life doesn't have to be as complicated as we make it.
9. Life is better when there are smiling people near by
10. Slow internet connections make me want to punch things, making me realize i need to be more patient and less reliant on the net.
11. Mangoes are undeniable proof that God exists
12. one man's nice cool evening is another persons freezing all night in their thatch roofed house.
13. Shakira is truly the universal modicum of communication. (her hips don't lie in Liberia either)
14. Liberia is where all those free fundraising t-shirts go when they die. (yesterday my boss came in wearing a t-shirt from some sort of cancer support event in Mt. Vernon, Iowa of all places)
15. I should have payed more attention in French class in high school
16. There are not lions and snakes every 10 feet in Africa
17. There are enough good people in this world to make it a better place
18. It really is true, the last shall be first and the first shall be last
So these are a few of my lessons I have learned so far. I will let you in on more as they are unfolded to me
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4 comments:
Excellent lessons so far.Estoy aprendiendo contigo y espero más aun.x
Ever think that maybe it is us that don't know how to be truly happy. Look at the levels of psychological illness amongst your new African friends versus the Americans you know and know of. Getting back to the basics has a way of letting us know what is truly important. Remeber the mountain top in the middle of nowhere I was always threatening to take you guys to...perhaps I should have carried through with it:)
These sound like amazing people
I feel so honored to be living vicariously through your experiences, Mateo. I am glad you are keeping this journal and I am even more glad that you are sharing your lessons, even if they involve Shakira :)
haha, her hips don't lie in liberia either. What a wonderful experience you are having. all the best to you. when are you returning to the US?
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