23 hours. That’s how long it took me to travel back to America from Accra, Ghana. It felt like time travel. The journey was long, but it didn’t prepare me for the stark differences I was about to experience. As I slowly strolled off the plane at a Ghanaian pace, I only had one thing on my mind: drinkable tap water. I walked to the nearest bathroom and held my hands under the sensors and drank like a dehydrated Bedouin. Then I realized something profound. Everything I saw looked different. Super different. But, why? Is living in a developing country really all that different? Travel changes how you see the world because it changes you. My experience in Ghana made me a completely different person and when I got back, I saw everything in the “first world” through a brand new lens. Since then, I have traveled to over twenty countries, many of them underdeveloped. I’ve spent over three years living and traveling around Southeast Asia. Living in a developing country keeps you humble and forces you to think about your values. Here are eight things I stopped giving a shi*t about along the way:

Buying New Things...

The more time I spend in developing countries, the more I care about items that actually have value. Yes, that two dollar T-shirt with a cartoon of a person drinking the local beer is funny and cheap, but is that what is really going to bring me joy? I doubt it.Instead, I choose to spend my money on the things that actually matter. I’d rather spend $10 on a bus ticket than a funny hat, because I know in ten years, the memories from that 16 hour trip to Togo and Benin will bring me more smiles than another worn out piece of clothing. Experiences over possessions.

...And Keeping the Old

Maybe it’s because on a daily basis, I am surrounded by people that live off of a small fraction of my budget. Maybe it’s because traveling makes you realize that experiences and relationships are far more valuable than any “thing.” Maybe it’s because I’m crazy. But living in developing countries has made me realize just how little one needs to survive.Do I really need a red t-shirt AND a blue one? Is that second bathing suit really necessary? If the answer is no, then it’s out! Living in a developing country can really change the way you think about things, including your finances.

The Latest Stats

I used to have a laundry list of sports teams to keep up with. Timberwolves, Twins, Vikings and Badger football. One time in Ghana, I woke up at 4AM to watch an NBA playoff game. On my way out the door, I passed by a friend who had already woken up to do her laundry, which meant washing her clothes by hand. She told me she likes to do it early so she can focus on her school work once the sun comes up. This made me feel like a privileged American, and I began to realize how little it mattered how many times a bunch of men can throw a ball through a hoop.

Complaints

There was an old woman that sold fruit down the street from my apartment In Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Every morning, she set up her stand at 6am. And every day, she sold fruit for a dollar or two until the last shops had closed. She worked sixteen hour days every single day of the week. And I never saw her without a smile on her face. She taught me that you can be happy in any circumstance.I used to complain about things like the heat, the pollution, and the lack of ice cubes in my water. But seeing her, and many people like her, made me realize that there is so much more to life than those petty things. And there are always millions of things to be grateful for.

Being Super Clean All the Time

I used to think being clean meant showering daily, washing my hair and hands frequently, and always smelling nice and fresh. Now, I think clean means not having too much dirt on my body. When it’s so hot that you become covered in sweat minutes after stepping out of the shower, your ideas of cleanliness change. Traveling in a developing country can mean lots of dust, sweat, rain, bug spray or any combination. But, once you learn to be okay with a little dirt on your clothes, you realize it's not the end of the world if you need to wait a few hours to shower and clean up. And the bucket baths feel much more rewarding!

Toilet Paper (In SE Asia)

Most bathrooms in Southeast Asia don’t have toilet paper. Instead, they have a small hose that sprays water. At first, I was horrified by this idea. I thought it was dirty and gross. But then I grew to love this wonderful bathroom bidet (I even wrote a funny song about it called : The Bum Gun, a name that I may or may not have made up for the hose).Now, I cry a little deep down when I use a toilet without a bum gun. Think about it this way - if you had a plate covered in gravy, which would be a more efficient way of cleaning it: with a paper towel or with a faucet? Exactly. That's why I don't miss toilet paper.

Language Barriers

It’s one thing to say “thank you” and “hello” in another language, but it’s a totally different thing to create real connections. For a while, I thought that language barriers would prevent me from making friends. But once you learn a phrase or two, it’s always easy to make a connection.From my experience, I know that you can make friends anywhere in the world! Body language goes a long way. I’ve created deeper connections with simply a smile and a hug than I have with hour long conversations. And if you can't speak, you can always dance. Connection is everywhere.

Differences

Vietnamese, American, black, African, white, male, female… the more I lived abroad, the more I realized that labeling people only emphasizes our differences. In reality, we are all just people. We have more in common than we do not.Whether a person grew up speaking English, Vietnamese, German, Xhosa, or Portuguese as their mother tongue, they still want to live a life full of love and good people. We’re all striving for the same thing - happiness. And the sooner we realize that we’re not so different after all, the sooner we will be able to help each other achieve this bliss. If you do give a shi*t about any of these things, I hope this doesn’t scare you away. Everyone is different. True, traveling will change you, but only if you are open to the opportunity. It can help you realign your values and recenter your beliefs around the things that truly matter. Have you ever thought about living in a developing country? Which one? Let us know in the comments!