There are obvious differences in our life since arriving,
especially in weather, language and culture.
The following are a few of the smaller differences in our daily lives. I, Erin, thought to highlight these because inside
our home it seems pretty similar to what our life might look like in the
States, except for:
-A water pump we run daily to fill a roof top tank. Without the pump, water from the city will not
flow through our pipes. Our roof top
tank allows us to run the pump only periodically. The biggest difference is in remembering to
run the pump. At least twice now we have
run out of water from the roof top tank in the middle of a shower. What do you do when you are all soapy, out of
water, and the pump is outside?
-A water filter we use for all our drinking water, and I don't mean a refrigerator pitcher you fill with water. It takes some time to fill a gallon
container but it is pretty hands off unless you let it over flow (done this a
couple times too).
- Our most common form of transportation is a taxi, so now everytime
a horn honks outside Whitman says, “taxi here mom” even if it is just the nieghbors.
-3 out of 4 of us now own motorcycle helmets. The majority of people ride motorcycles, so
we often have the opportunity as well if just one or two of us are going some where.
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| John and Caedmon off to run an errand (on a friend's bike) |
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| Caedmon is so excited to have his own helmet |
-No sinks in our bathrooms, nor a bath tub. Our boys still are not
fans of taking showers, too much water in the eyes, so we have improvised with
a not quite large enough tub.
-Cold showers; taken twice daily and still really enjoying them. We don’t have a hot water heater, but we can’t
imagine using one in this weather.
-Mosquito lotion is more commonly used then regular hand
lotion: daily before going outside and before bed.
-Baby powder is used more now then ever before by our family
as our boys seem to have endless heat rashes.
Upon first arriving I wondered why local kids, in the mornings, often have a dusting of white powder on their faces.
We are thankful that these differences have now become part of our lives. I hope many of the bigger, cultural differences will soon become second nature to us as well!
