Much of life how life treats us can be tweaked by the perspective we take on it (admittedly, that is a very middle class America statement.) People are often amazed at what we and our teammates are doing because they perceive life in Africa as very difficult, but much of that perception depends on the attitude one takes. Life here is definitely not as plush as life in America- not even close, and we do live a little closer to the elements than in America. There is the daily stress of living in and working in a foreign language and culture, and all of the things get to us at times, but there are a lot of joys and rewards as well, and part of thriving here is learning to live in and relish thing facets of life as much as possible.
However, one of the hardest things I’ve had to get used to is feeding a family here. Don’t get me wrong, we love all of the fresh veggies and fruit you can get so easily at the market, and I think we have much healthier eating habits, but that fact is that I have to be prepared to serve three meals a day, plus snacks for school- everyday. There are no shortcuts unless I plan ahead of time to prepare something to freeze. There are practically no quick fix meals, and not many restaurants from which to choose.
I tried to prepare for this and hired a househelper who knows how to cook. It still did not equal the convenience that is offered in the US. I am going to make a deliberate attempt to remember that the providing food aspect of being here is hard when I come back. Please feel free to remind me if I forget!
Having said that, there are some foods I am looking forward to having when I get back to the States. Oreos, Starbucks coffee, La Hacienda, broccoli, strawberries, ice cream, ice cream, and ice cream, too. All of those things are pretty easy to get and or prepare.
