Being back in Canada is strange. In some ways it feels like I have never left - I have fallen right back into my routine. In other ways I see how vastly different Canada is from Ghana. Things start seeming normal when you are in another country for so long and you forget that things are different at home.
For example:
- I don't need to throw my toilet paper in the garbage - I now get to flush it.
- People obey traffic lights.
- Motorcyclists wear helmets.
- Babies aren't tied to their mama's backs on motorcycles.
- Motorcycles have only 1 or 2 people on them (instead of 1-7... true story).
- People seem unfriendly. No one says hello when you walk down the street.
- Everyone is in a hurry.
- There are no children running down the street.
- There are no children outside.
- People go to work without their children.
- Nobody recognizes me.
- I haven't been proposed to lately.
- No one randomly touches my skin.
- I haven't terrified any children due to the colour of my skin.
- Everyone tries to look the same -- they wear the same colours, shop at the same stores, and have similar styles.
- You can buy everything at one store.
- You can't buy things through your car window while you're driving around.
- There's no honking!
- When there happens to be honking it is because someone is angry -- not just friendly communication.
- I sleep with blankets on because it is so cold at night.
- The power is reliable!
- It stays on at night so I go to bed later.
- Drivers use their turn signals.
- Only two cars drive side by side on two lane roads.
- There is a limit to the number of people you can have in a vehicle.
- I haven't seen any goats tied to the roof of a bus.
- People say please and thank you.
- People don't squeeze (and I do mean squeeze) between each other -- there is such a hing as personal space.
- Babies are strapped in car seats -- waste of space in a taxi!
- No goats or chickes around.
- I can go to dinner with a friend without paying for them.
- There is pavement everywhere!
- I haven't tripped over an open sewer system yet today.
- You can buy everything you need in one store.
- Taxi prices are based on time spent in the taxi -- not up for negotiation based on the colour of your skin.
- I can't barter for my food.
- I can drink from my tap.
- I can have warm showers -- I want to have warm showers.
- I feel clean.
- Cheese is refrigerated.
- People actually have heaters in their homes.
- I haven't seen any three-year-olds with their younger siblings tied to their backs.
- I don't have to worry about getting Malaria.
- Everything is open on Sunday.
- Nurses care for their patients.
- I haven't seen any patients hit or laughed at.
- There is no dancing in the streets.
- There is no dancing, period.
- Men and women hold hands.
- Everyone has electricity and a TV.
- Hardly anyone lives where they work.
- Children go to daycare and have babysitters.
- Music in stores is played quietly so you can hardly hear it.
- Nobody follows me down the street (and if they did I'd be worried!)
- No one (aside from Erik) has proclaimed their love for me recently.
- Fruits and vegetables are eaten cold.
- Almost all children attend school.
- there is a lack of colourful clothing.
- There isn't as much smog -- I can actually see the blue sky.
- You can get exact change at stores.
- I don't have to pay to use public washrooms.
- I can find public washrooms.
- I don't have to squat and suspend myself above a tiny hole to void.
- International calls are so expensive.
- There is high speed internet everywhere.
- People hardly walk anywhere.
- Most vehicles have air conditioning.
- I haven't held a stranger's baby yet today.
- I don't have to wash my clothes by hand.
- I am not sticky 24 hours a day.
- People here have more than enough of everything
- People whine and complain more.
- People are less forward.
- All stores are in buildings.
- There is no music in the streets.
- No one has asked me for my water.
- No one has asked me for anything -- money, my purse, my sunglasses, my empty water bottle.
- There is no dirt under my fingernails.
- There's no need to keep the bucket in the bathroom filled with water because water doesn't shut off and I can always flush my toilet.
- There are glass panes on the windows.
- People are on time for things.
- I pay the same price as everyone else.
- I haven't made a baby cry because of the colour of my skin.
- Nobody wears/carries things on their heads.
- People in the service industry actually aim to please.
- You have to tip after paying for a meal at a restaurant (and tax isn't included in the menu prices!)
- Meat is refrigerated here.
- I haven't been able to find any dog meat to purchase on the street.
- Cows are fat.
- Nobody does 'real' manual labour -- even the labourers have the help of some pretty incredible tools.
- Hardly any women deliver babies at home.
- There are cars for sale everywhere!
- I do not have an entourage of children.
- Nobody waves at me.
- Nobody stops and stares at me.
- I don't feel the need to drink 4-6L of water a day, though it's probably still a good idea.
- I have more than enough clothing.
- I don't have to hang my clothes in my bedroom to dry.
- My feet are clan.
- Women cover up when they breastfeed.
- Babies wear diapers.
- There is an actual garbage disposal system.
- There are garbage cans everywhere that are emptied regularly.
- Coke comes in a can.
- Children don't go anywhere unattended and a 3 year old sister does not count as an attendant.
- Everyone wears shoes or sandals.
- It is so green!
- I don't have to carry my water bottle with me wherever I go.
- Pedestrians use cross walks and have the right of way.
- You can control the temperature of the shower -- you want to control the temperature.
- My toes are not swollen sausages.
- Walls in rooms are actually washed and appear clean.
1 comment:
This list is all too familiar. It made for some good reminiscing. Thanks. :)
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