The Other Side of the Coin

So seeing as I thought of a couple of other things that I am going to miss I decided to mention what those things are and then make a list of the things that I am not going to miss.
Some more things I'm going to miss...

• The Mosque playing their morning prayers at 5am and in the evening. I don't hear it in the morning (cause I'm not up that early) but in the evening at sunset it's beautiful
• ice cream - the ice cream is wicked good here and super cheap. A 500ml container of ice cream is between 90-150 Rs depending on the flavor which comes to a whopping $1.15 - $1.90! (Eva our movie watching wouldn't be so expensive!)
• Being called "Miss Orange" by my students.
• Shopping - it's actually fun here. It's like a treasure hunt. You never know what you are going to find in each store (although it can be frustrating when you don't know where to get a particular item and you have to just walk into each store and ask for it). The stores here have an amazing array of item that you can purchase. They remind me of the "General" Stores from the times of the settlers in North America.

So the things I'm not going to miss...

• Being stared at ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Until you actually experience this you have NO idea.
• People walking close to you just so they might touch you.
• Saying "hello, good morning". I don't think that they figured out that "hello" and "good morning" are both greetings.
• Paying more for almost everything just because I am a foreigner
• Black Perfume - that's what people call the exhaust from all the vehicles because it's black and the smell clings to you.
• Guys making rude remarks to me in a language I can't understand
• The power going off at least 5-6 times a week
• Mosquito nets!!!!!!!! I've actually given mine up because I just can't handle it anymore and the mosquitos aren't that bad in our new house.
• Cow dung. Cows have a lot of parasites or something here so that when they defecate is splats it doesn't just plop...and it stinks really bad. I actually don't mind the smell of manure but this smells absolutely rank.
• Littering. Man I can't stand the way everyone litters here. It's incredible. Sometimes I just want to scream "litter bug"
• People asking where I am from and then saying that they love Canada when I tell them that's where I'm from. I've started asking if they've been there...so far no one has said "yes". I'd like to know how they love it if they've never been there?
• I won't miss dial-up internet connection with the constant possiblility that the power won't stay on.
• Honking...I definitely won't miss the honking. Here the horn is the primary source of communication on the road. At home if I'm walking down the side of the road and someone honks it means that they either know me or that I am in the way. Here people honk just to let you know that they are coming, they honk if I move over while walking, they honk because I'm a foreigner, they honk to say "hi" or for whatever reason they happen to be feeling at the time.
• being deafened by the men selling lottery tickets. They have loud speaker hooked up to there shops or vans and they are constantly screaming into them. I don't think they understand the purpose of a loud speaker.
• "Madame, taxi?"
• Having no name. I am Miss or Madame or Sister. The only people who call me by my name are the teachers and that's mostly when we are not at school. I am really going to enjoy hearing my name.

So this in no way is an exhaustive list. These are just some of the things that come to my mind right now.