Our New Normal

It's hard to believe that it's already been 8 months since we moved here.  In this short time, here are some things that have become a "normal" part of our life:

1.  Sweating: Just how hot and humid can it possibly be?  These days you literally sweat just sitting and breathing.    Temperatures have been around 105-110 degrees F during the daytime which makes the heat index something ridiculous like the 120s ... and this is just the beginning of summer!  No wonder this country has the nickname "hell's waiting room."     

2.  Power outages: We can go some days with having electricity all day, and the worst it's probably been for us is not having power off and on for around 10 hrs/day.  As the temperature increases, so has the power cuts so lately we're probably averaging about 4 hrs without electricity during the daytime - thank goodness for a generator!  Although Seth seems to be used to the power cutting in and out, he does a little cheer and dance when the electricity comes back on=)

3.  Call to prayer:  5 times a day, every day

4.  Afternoon naps:  I've always been a napper, and now I live in a country where naps/resting in the afternoon is the norm ... so much so that most stores, businesses, etc are closed between 1-4 pm (if not for the rest of the day).     

5.  Dirty feet:  Whether having gone out or just stayed in the apt all day, by the end of the day there always seems to be a nice layer of dirt covering the bottoms of our feet.  I used to be a little self-conscious about it (especially if I was barefoot inside someone else's place) until I noticed that everyone else's feet were dirty, too.  

6.  Cooking on 1 stove burner and without an oven or microwave:  Only 1 out of the 4 burners on our stove works, our oven broke in January, and we don't have a microwave.  Granted preparing meals probably takes a lot longer, and we're limited in our options, but now we're used to it.  I don't think I was very good at multi-tasking in the kitchen anyways so now I have an excuse when some dishes are already cold when it's time to eat.   

7.  Bargaining:  Ethan's great at it while I hate doing it.  Usually if there's something I'm interested in, I'll let him know and leave him to do the dirty work.  Most of the times it's a success, although occasionally he has returned empty-handed ...

8.  Stocking up:  We learned early on from the ex-pat community here that if you see something you like (in particular something in the grocery store), stock up b/c you don't know how long it'll be around and once they run out, you don't know if/when it'll be back.  It seemed kind of silly at first, but we soon discovered that what they said was true.  Products ranged from not being able to find chicken breast anywhere for a few months to some of our favorite snacks (e.g. American brand chips and chocolate) disappearing off the shelves.  Ethan's been waiting over 7 months for flaming hot cheetos to be restocked on the shelves=)

9.  People begging or trying to sell you something:  I've had quite the few mini heart attacks while sitting in the car waiting for Ethan to run a quick errand when out of nowhere someone pops up and taps on the window asking for money or trying to sell something.  You'd think since this pretty much happens every time we go out that it wouldn't phase me anymore, but this is still probably one of the most difficult things for me to get used to ...

10.  People staring: Along with #9, this is probably one of the other most difficult things to get used to.  More often than not the staring is accompanied by a greeting of one of the following: China!  Ni How!  Japan!  Konichiwa!  and the occasional wink and sly grin.  At the university where I taught English, students would walk past my class and inevitably do a double take upon seeing me standing in the front of the classroom.  I can only imagine what thoughts were going through their mind:  What class is that?  Is that the teacher?  She looks like she's 15!  I didn't know they offered Chinese classes here ...

11.  Common sights on the street:  Animals (camels, goats, donkeys, cows, dogs, and cats), garbage, men holding hands, people picking their noses, and men peeing

Time will only tell what else makes this list in the future ...