1. Stoplights are optional.
As we rode in a taxi from the airport to our apartment at two
in the morning, we watched our driver float between lanes, most of the time
preferring to straddle the car on the dotted lines. Then as we pulled up to a
stoplight and sat there for about a minute, another car came zooming past us
through the stoplight. That’s when our driver decided the stoplight was no
longer useful. So sure enough, we pulled right through it too.
2. Tapwater is no good.
We’ve been living with our friends, who have been so awesome
and been teaching us all we need to know about living here. After traveling for
over 24 hours, one tends to feel pretty dirty and longs to brush one’s teeth.
So upon arrival, we quickly find out that sink water is good for almost
nothing. Including brushing your teeth. This means, every time we want to brush
our teeth or wash our hands, a cup of purified water must be used to get the
job done. Anyone used a water bottle to brush your teeth? Maybe you can agree
with me that it’s a little strange.
3. There’s no such thing as a shower stall.
Another thing to adjust to is showering. In America, you
step into a tub, close the shower curtain or door, and you are basically in a
little room. Here, imagine, walking into a bathroom, and the sink is on the
right wall. Take another step and there is a shower head sticking out from the
same wall. Another step and there’s a shower curtain blocking the toilet that sits
at the end of the narrow room. With a drain in the floor underneath the sink,
this means that your shower takes place in the middle of the bathroom. Also
another interesting experience.
4. Ditches have two purposes: Water drainage and urinals.
Within one hour of walking down the streets on the first
day, we pass markets and streets full of people out and about doing there
business. LITERALLY. We saw at least five men using the bathroom on the side of
the street. Talk about awkward. (But I think only for us evidently.)
5. Electricity is a luxury.
With all of the power outages recently, we were so thankful
to move into an apartment that had A.C. Unfortunately, we lost power 3-4 times
in one day. Fortunately, we never lost it for more than thirty minutes. Unfortunately,
this will become normal.
6. There are no such things as sidewalks.
Lastly, we discovered upon our first walk through the market
that a (dirt) street that is a smidge wider than a one lane road is a sidewalk,
urinal, water drainage ditch, front of a market, and a driving area for both
directions of traffic, full of cars, trucks, bicycles, and motorbikes.
(Granted, I think this was a smaller market area, and it was the only one we
have seen so far. So crossing my fingers, maybe we will discover a sidewalk
somewhere else?)
All together, needless to say, it’s going to be an
interesting few months adjusting to huge changes in our lifestyle. He is good
and faithful and is with us every step up of the way, so we put our hope in
that. And our hope in that one day all of this will seem a little more normal
than it does right now.