Hey everyone! I write this to you from Michigan! Yahoo! Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted. The first few weeks back have been a whirlwind in the best way possible! I plan to do a number of reflective blogs now that I’m back but this first one is more for fun. Along the way, I kept a record of a number of random statistics from the World Race. They’re pretty cool.
Disclaimer: I checked the math several times but it’s possible the numbers may not line up. Oh well, close enough!
GENERAL EXPERIENCE
Total days on the World Race: 325
Approximate total travel time: 309.5 (approx. 13 days)
This is not including all of the taxi rides and various means of transportation within the ministry cities. That number would be much higher. What that means is that roughly 4% of my time on the World Race was spent in travel.
The shower count: 138
Bolivia: 4
Peru: 7
Ecuador: 10
Colombia: 7
Japan: 24 (they really emphasis cleanliness and expected daily showers)
Malaysia: 14
Thailand: 15
Cambodia: 16
Swaziland: 14
Botswana: 18
South Africa: 9
We were on the Race for a total of 325 which means I took an average of 1 shower every 2.35 days. Could have been worse.
Books read: 33
Weird foods consumed:
spam, llama, cuy (guinea pig), takoyakey, tameroons, jack fruit, biltong (South African jerky)
There were many more to be sure but those are some of the highlights.
Local Contacts: 3
This one is quite interesting. I kept track of how many of the main contacts we worked with were actually locals of whatever country we were serving in at the time. The only three countries that we actually had a local contact were Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia. An argument can be made for Japan with our host homes but the overall contact was actually from New Zealand. It would seem that missionaries tend to partner with other missionaries.
Countries where I took communion: 4
Peru, Thailand, Cambodia, and Swaziland
Countries that I got to swim in: 7
Peru, Ecuador, Malaysia, Thailand, Swaziland, Botswana, and South Africa.
Illness: 25 days
Bolivia: 1 day
Peru: 1 week
Cambodia: 1.5 weeks
Botswana: 1 week
Major Holidays Celebrated: 8
July 4th, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, Easter
SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS
Beds: 34
Bolivia: 4 (2 in La Paz and 2 in Uyuni)
Peru: 3 (1 in Lima, my sleeping mat, and a bunk bed)
Ecuador: 3 (1 in Latacunga and 2 in Quito)
Colombia: 2 (both in Bogota)
Philippines: 1 (bench because we were in the airport overnight. Count it!)
Japan: 4 (1 retreat center, 1 Yoshida family home, 1 Wazaki family couch, 1 sleeping mat for Thanksgiving celebrations)
Malaysia: 3 (1 Kuala Lumpur, 2 Georgetown)
Thailand: 2 (1 Phang Nga, 1 Bangkok)
Cambodia: 3 (all in Phnom Penh: 1 hostel, 1 ministry location, 1 debrief hostel)
Swaziland: 3 (1 Parent Vision Trip, 1 sleeping mat first homestay, 1 bunk second homestay)
Botswana: 4 (1 sleeping mat Gaborone, 1 sleeping mat Kasane, 1 bunk Francistown, 1 sleeping mat Gaborone)
South Africa: 2 (mattress at ministry location, bunk at final debrief)
I counted any time we changed sleeping locations as a different bed because everything had to be reassembled. So the final count may be up for debate but from my perspective I slept in 34 beds. 34 BEDS!
Countries where bedding was provided for us for at least a portion of the month: 10
I think that is crazy. 10 out of 11 months I had something that resembled a bed be it a bunk, shared twin bed, or a mattress on the floor. Other members of my squad were not so lucky and used their sleeping mats far more frequently.
Tent nights: 25
Peru: 2 in Trujillo
Botswana: 7 in Gaborone, 14 in Kasane, and 2 again in Gaborone
The irony: My parents were able to come visit me at the beginning of month 9, at which point I decided I would no longer need my tent. Not a week later I found out that my team would be in tents for the entire month in Botswana. Jokes on me. Fortunately, one of my buddies took pity on me and let me use her tent for the month. It was a win-win because I didn’t have to cram in with a teammate and she didn’t have to carry her tent around for a month.
Floor nights (different from tent nights): 13
Peru: 5 (at the ministry compound and in a bus terminal)
Swaziland: 8
Hostel nights: 27
La Paz: 2
Lima: 1
Quito: 3
Bogota: 2
Japan: 2
Malaysia: 7
Thailand: 2
Cambodia: 3
South Africa: 5
Countries with a Debrief: 8
Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, South Africa
There are standard debriefs that happen around the end of month 3, beginning of month 4, then around the end of month 8, beginning of month 9 and final debrief. Every squad has those three debriefs where the squad mentor and coaches come out to visit. The standard debriefs typically last about 4 or 5 days. Our squad was fortunate because we got to see each other all together almost every month (Africa was the exception) for mini-debriefs which lasted a few days. I think this played a large role in why the squad was so united. It’s far easier to connect with someone when you see them on a regular basis, you know?
TRAVEL DETAILS
Hours spent on a bus: 218.5 (approximately 9 days on a bus)
South America – 126.5
Asia – 47.5
Africa – 44.5
Overnight buses: 8
Bus terminals slept in: 2
Peru – Trujillo and Guayaquil (back-to-back nights)
Train and subway hours: 9
Backs of Trucks: 6
Bolivia: 2
Ecuador: 2
Thailand: 1
Swaziland: 1
Cars: 6
Bolivia: 1
Japan: 4
Swaziland: 1
Boats: 3
Japan, Malaysia, Thailand
Bikes: 3
Japan: I had 3 separate bikes because the tires popped. Oops.
Flight hours: 82
Atlanta to Miama – 3
Miami to La Paz – 5
Bogota to Dallas – 6
Dallas to LA – 3
LA to Philippines – 14
Philippines to Japan – 3
Japan to Malaysia – 8
Cambodia to Vietnam – 2
Vietnam to Qatar – 7
Qatar to South Africa – 8
Nelspruit to Johannesburg – 1
Johannesburg to Qatar – 8
Qatar to DC – 14
Overnight flights: 6
Total modes of transportation: 10
Bus, train, subway, car, bike, boat, plane, taxi, tuk tuk, walking
Border crossing methods: 4
On foot: Bolivia-Peru, South Africa-Swaziland, Swaziland-South Africa, South Africa-Botswana, Botswana-South Africa
On bus: Peru-Ecuador, Ecuador-Colombia
In van: Malaysia-Thailand, Thailand-Cambodia
On plane: Colombia-USA, USA-Japan, Japan-Malaysia, Cambodia-South Africa, South Africa-USA
GEOGRAPHY
Continents: 4
North America, South America, Asia, Africa
Bodies of water: 2
Trujillo, Peru – Pacific Ocean
Georgetown, Malaysia and Phuket, Thailand – Indian Ocean
Oddly enough, the other places that I got to swim were either hot springs in Ecuador or pools. I know, I was shocked too. It’s not a reflection of the accommodations that World Racers live in, rather me having a burning desire to swim as often as possible! Cheers.
Mountain Ranges: 1
Andes Mountains
Volcanoes: 3
All in Ecuador
Capitals Visited: 9
La Paz, Bolivia
Lima, Peru
Quito, Ecuador
Bogota, Colombia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Bangkok, Thailand
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Gaborone, Botswana
Pretoria, South Africa (one of three!)
That said, the only countries that I did not get to see the capital cities were Japan and Swaziland. There was a day that some went to the Swaziland capital but I opted to stay home and rest. 9/11 isn’t too shabby.
There you have it! I hope you enjoyed the statistics, and I will be writing more soon!
