You Know You're In Africa When... (Part 2)

• the owner of your taxi sends along a mechanic on your trip because he knows the car will most likely break down along the way.
• you take a leak behind a bush by the side of the road while said mechanic is repairing said broken down taxi.
• your taxi's rear door is tied shut with a piece of rope, and its hubcaps are held on with zip ties.
• you see women carrying their groceries or their wares on their heads and their babies on their backs.
• you wear a kerchief over your hair to protect it from all the dust.
• you spray your bedroom for mosquitoes before going to bed and sleep under a mosquito net.
• the phrase "in ten minutes" really means "in the next hour or two" or even "sometime today."
• you see chickens, goats, and pigs walking down the road in the capital city.
• "good" and "nice" are relative terms, especially when describing roads and bathrooms.
• sweeping dirt somehow makes it clean.
• a 5-6 hour bus ride ends up taking 12 hours due to multiple breakdowns.
• after said 12-hour bus trip over dusty roads, your child's bathwater is brown at the end of his bath from the layers of caked-on dirt.
• power outtages (for no apparent reason) are a common occurence.
• you plan your use of any electrical appliance around when the generator will be on.
• you do your laundry by hand (okay, so I only had to do this once), and hang it out to dry.
• a real American hamburger is one of the highlights of your week.
• you make your own tortillas for taco night.
• sunscreen, bug repellent, and hand sanitizer become three things you never leave home without.
• you don't measure distance in miles or kilometers, but in how long it takes to get there, because as everyone knows, maps are deceiving!
• your Seventh Day Adventist neighbors play obnoxiously loud Christian music until the wee hours of the morning, and no one tells them to shut up (guess who was hoping for a power outtage that night?)
• you stay at a nice hotel with a nice pool -- that has no water in it.
• you take a malaria pill every Sunday.
• the person who looks through your bags at the airport asks for your cookies.
• you bargain with vendors at the market.
• people call you "mama" and "sister" even though you aren't their mother or their sister (I don't know why, but this has always annoyed me).
• you huddle in a tight circle with four other people around a computer screen to watch the season finale of one of your favorite TV shows. (Have I mentioned how amazed I am that this was even possible? Technology is a wonderful thing!)
• you plan to arrive at the airport several hours before your flight is scheduled to depart.
• a man is smoking just in front of a no smoking sign, and a police officer standing ten feet away says not a word.

We are back from Africa, but I thought I would go ahead and share the remainder of my list. I really had fun with it. Those of you who have lived, are living, or have ever visited Africa -- if you can think of something I left out, feel free to leave a comment below.