A Day in the Life:
Imagine this: at around 7:30 in the morning, you wake to the sound of slight traffic, roosters crowing, and dogs barking. You make your typical breakfast of scrambled eggs and oatmeal with fruits (which you had just bleached the night before after buying them from the local street market). You pour yourself a cup of coffee with milk (that can stay on the counter if unopened because it’s radiated) and sugar, but you’re careful not to spill any, so you don’t attract any ants! As you eat breakfast and drink your coffee, you spend some time with God.
Then, you walk to class with your team to learn from a local professor about the history and culture of the country you are now living in. As you cross the street, you hold your breath and boldly step directly into oncoming traffic and pray that the drivers will hit the brakes - it’s scary, but it’s the culture! You have learned that traffic laws are merely suggestions here and are not enforced!
At lunch time, you eat a local meal with your team. The dish is a vibrant yellow color, consisting of chicken, potatoes, and veggies. Your fingernails stained yellow from using your hands and bread to collect each bite (but NEVER with your left hand!)
After more classes, you and your team go to the street market to get the necessary groceries and household items. As you walk the bustling streets, your senses are filled with: the sound of yelling, persistent shopkeepers, the waves of colors of women’s headscarves, the smell of homemade bread and freshly butchered chicken, the taste of sweet dates gifted to you by a kind shopkeeper, and the touch of being shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of other people in the market. You then hear in the background the sound of the call to prayer blasting over speakers, filling the entire city with the sound of a man singing in Arabic.
Later that night, you go out into the city - and my goodness, how the city comes alive at night! The population has nearly tripled, and the streets are filled with the youth and families. Walking to cafés and near the water, you pray to God that He would let you meet a friend!
This is a day in the life in North Africa - in a country that is filled with color, hospitable and kind people, and many cultural differences!
