This is Africa

• Geckos on the walls… inside your house
• Bars on all the windows and doors for security
• Front doors are left wide open all the time during the day… hence the geckos?
• Electricity being cut every other night…and sometimes during the day
• 12 hours light and 12 hours of dark year round (about 7am to 7pm)… and when it’s dark it’s very, very dark
• Shillings to dollars conversion (50k is the largest bill)…1,000 shillings is currently less than 50 cents
• Sounds in nature that I don’t recognize whatsoever
• Dogs barking at all hours of the night…and day
• Sometimes your neighbors will just walk into your house... unannounced
• Common children’s literature revolves around HIV/AIDS
• You’re never late, but you can’t leave early
• Zebras graze alongside cows in the countryside
• When a Ugandan asks you what food you like they’re asking what starch you want with your sauce: yams, potatoes, cassava, matooke, rice, millet, posho…
• No such thing as a 5 min conversation or a 3 second handshake
• Washing your feet before getting into bed is must
• Rather than saying “the tip of the iceberg” it’s more understood to say “it’s just the nose of the hippo.”
• When the lights go out (in stores, in church, anywhere), life just keeps going on as normal