Random Things I have noticed

-They don't have garbage disposals in their kitchens, so all ends of foods or carrots skins must be thrown in the garbage.
-They have a drain in the kitchen like they do in the shower, only it is right in front of the sinks and therefore a pain. Some item must be used to cover the drain or else since it is plastic it is easy to put a hole in the cover.
-One does not fill up the sink with water since it is cold water when doing the dishes. They just put a little soap on the item or the washcloth or sponge and wash the object.
-I really feel things don't get as clean here since there is only cold water. Things like underwear get dingy fast.
-The washing machine sits outside the house. I don't know if there are dryers because everything is hung to dry. Most clothes can be dry at the end of the day if done in the morning.
-Satin pillow cases do not work well here. They become hot and damp.
-Sheets kind of always smell sweaty, because they never get completely dry and then when one is sleeping since it is hot they sweat some.
-Fireworks seem to go off every night.
-I eat less since it is hot here because I don't feel hungry. Therefore when I do something like go for a walk I feel tired instead of rejuvenated.
-Since it is hot it is easier to feel tired here. The heat seems to zap one's energy (that may get better once I have been here longer).
-Even though they have a wonderful garbage pick up system that comes 3 times a week people still burn their trash- which I think is bad for in environment depending on what they are burning.
-It seems most days like something is burning like a house even though it is just the trash.
-On Saturdays now since that is the biggest shopping day at grocery stores they charge for plastic bags to help make the environment more green.
-People just throw trash wherever instead of putting it in a garbage can.
-I never have cold hands or feet here. Most times I actually feel hot instead.
-Muslims have halal and Jewish have kosher foods.
-They don't use alcohol in anything, not even cough syrup or extracts like vanilla or almond.
-Muslims cover themselves out of modesty. When I lived in Idaho the Mormons also covered themselves out of modesty. They had a special type of underwear and undershirt they wore. They also did not wear things where they had bare shoulders or short shorts or revealing shirts.
-It is easiest to wear sandals since one must always remove their shoes outside a person's home. Although I like to have socks on when I am visiting someone's home and so loafers are ok.
- If one does not keep there house really clean and dispose of their trash on a frequent basis it is easy to get ants.
-Food goes bad here faster. Most things even flour and rice, and sugar must be kept in the fridge to keep bugs out of it. Things like chips and cereals must be kept in a tupperware container and tied at the opening to keep bugs out of it.
-They have fresh milk but it does not last long, so it is easier to keep this specially treated milk that lasts longer. The specially treated milk has a longer shelf like and actually is not found in the fridge section of the store.
-It does not appear that they get animals fixed here. There are tons and tons of cats. There are many dogs in the more Chinese neighborhoods but they are usually behind the gates in the years where cats are all over the place. Cats just sleep in the middle of the road if they want.
- This makes me wonder if they have vets or not.
-One must first run their water through a filter and then boil it and let it cool before one drinks the water.
-When ones cuts chicken up at restaurants or the store they just chop it up paying no attention to the bones. It is best to eat chicken with one's hands so as to remove the bones. It is still best to eat chicken slowly as sometimes there is still small bones that one does not want to swallow.
-At most restaurants people eat with their hands. They say people know where their hands have been but not always where the silverware has been. They always have a sink to wash a person's hands and soap. People must usually air dry their hands though.
-At homes people will have silverware but most people here if they don't use their hands they use a spoon. It is tough to eat things like lettuce salad with a spoon.
-They only have things like Dorothy Lynch, Thousand Island or no oil Italian dressing or coleslaw for dressings. I like none of these. I did find Caesar dressing at the more Western grocery store. If one wants ranch they must bring the packets from America to mix up and instead of sour cream use plain yogurt. One must get the blue cheese recipe off the internet to make it up. There is usually substitutes with that as well.
-Even though McDonald's taste the same they also have chili ketchup which I have not tried but heard is hot and spicy.
-Rain jackets are too hot but umbrellas as fall and winter come on are necessary.
-They have limited cereals but they don't really eat them for breakfast like we do.
-I was told that there would be close to my size so I should be able to find clothes here, but that has not been the case. Everyone is tiny-skinny and short. It was even hard to find sandals in my size when the one's I brought with broke.
-Most people here have straight hair. So it is very hard to find products for people with curly hair (so far I have not found any but some salon might be able to get something in for me).
- I was told that malaria mosquitoes have been eradicated from here and they don't really have mosquitoes but evidence of bites on my body says otherwise. So, I really hope they have eradicated the malaria. I finally did find a tiny bottle of mosquito repellent.
-There are lots of different kinds of birds here that sing most of the day and night. Most of the songs are nice.
-It is best to always carry toilet paper with a person everywhere. Lots of stores have bathrooms but usually not paper. Luckily, most places have at least one Western style toilet so I have not had to figure out the squat toilet yet.
-The gutter system is more like a trench around houses and on the sides of streets. They must clean out the gutters because of all the vegetation that falls in them as it dies. Sometimes the gutters really smell too. I have noticed that at school a few times and also when going on walks.
-They don't have gutters on the whole house like we have gutters. They might only have them in some spots and the rests just runs off the roof and that is why the trench surrounds the house on the ground.
-Streets in neighborhoods are very crazy. Some with intersect with others but many will dead end. Some of the streets that dead end are long and one doesn't know until they get to the end that it does not intersect. There number system seems odd. Since the streets go any which way it is hard to figure out the number system because it does not seem to go in order like 1,2,3,4,etc. It seems to go like 6, 7,8, 15, 12, 13, etc.
- Most houses have tile through out the whole house. That probably makes it easier for cleaning here. It also might be better so that since it is so moist that no bugs or no dander get in the carpet and cause problems with like allergies.
-One does not need lotion here as the skin never gets dry.
-My face pretty much always feels greasy even a short time after washing it.
-My face has also had more breakouts since I have been here.
-There are no fans in the bathroom and one would think with a cold shower that one would not want a fan, but after the shower is over it becomes humid in the bathroom, so when one goes to put on make-up it is easy to sweat it off or make it messy.
-It also makes one's clothes stick more after showering.
-To figure out what time it is on a 24 hour clock. I take the second number minus two. Like if it is 15:08. Take the 5 minus two, and it is 3:08 p.m. 20:20 is 8:20 p.m.
-To figure out what time it is at home I take the time minus two hours and think opposite time of day. So 9:00p.m. would be 7:00 a.m back home. 15:00 is 3:00p.m. normal time which is 1:00 a.m. back home
-They do their date day/month/year rather than month/day/year. So when I first got here and saw it was 23/8/10 I was like there is no 23rd month. If they actually wrote out the month or abbreviated it but didn't use numbers it would be easier.
-They start their week on Monday, so all calendars start the week on a Monday. So they go Monday- Sunday. It is even that way on my phone and when I try to look up something it still confuses me sometimes.
-When it gets super hot here then it rains to cool things off. That tends to make things even more hot and humid the next day unless there is a really cool breeze.
-When it rains it is a down pour like someone just dumped over a huge bucket. Things get drenched fast. It is more like a sheet of water than individual drops. It usually last one to two hours but can go longer depending on how hot it has been.
-When it rains there is incredible lightning and thunder. Sometimes it will shake the house and light it almost as bright as day.