Mission Improbable

Hello.

Listen, you know how crowded Orbit becomes at Tate?


That's nothing.

Prepare for your mind to be blown.

We once fit 25.4 Ethiopians and Foreigners on a mini bus designed for SEVEN.


The 0.4 accounts for this one infant.


Bodies were hanging out of the windows.

I was lucky. I got to share a seat. With 3 other girls.


In comparison, Orbit practically  provides first class seating.

So, anyway 10 days into the Ethiopian adventure and I can safely say that I have run out of clean clothes.

It is a freedom like no other to wear dirty clothes.

You can't even imagine.

Okay actually maybe you can.

Picture yourself as Pocahontas in that cliff scene when 'Colors of the Wind' or whatever is playing and there are those weird rainbow feathers drifting around.

That is pretty close to how I feel.

I have conquered the impossible! Alice Yang who used to wear shirts and jeans only once before washing has now worn the same jeans for 10 days.

In retrospect, I should have packed more than one pair of jeans. Ignorant American that I am I assumed summer in America meant summer everywhere! And yes, I still think the Australians must duct tape themselves to the ground to avoid falling off the planet.The Ethiopian weather is actually approaching its "winter" season or "monsoon" season. The word monsoon draws up horrifying images of tidal waves and cars and houses floating in lakes. Thank god for my ankle high rain boots...

*That last remark was only 50% sarcasm. Besides, I bought a mini umbrella too.


So back to the subject at hand.

I have learned that the only way to survive in Africa is to let go of Western expectations and ideals.

It's sheer stupidity to assume you can wear clean clothes every day. When I first came here my laundry hamper (a Kroger plastic bag by the way) started overfilling. Eventually I realized I was going to have to either run around naked or compromise some expectations.

By the way in case you are wondering, I ruled out the nudity option.

Giving up clean clothes was helped by the fact that the attitude here is so carefree and wonderfully simplistic.


You start to wonder why you don't just wear a burlap sack everyday.

* By the way burlap would be a terrible color on me so of course that option was always ruled out.

And oh how happy I've been to make this marginal change in my life.

Ultimately, Ethiopia has made possible the elimination of self consciousness that would be improbable in the judgmental and highly peer pressurized America.

When you have separated mind from insignificant matter, the mind thanks you.

And you also save like 50 birr by avoiding the laundromat.

So America, I have been truly humbled by Ethiopia and consequently discovered the secret to happiness...


DIRTY CLOTHES!