Lazy Day

I didn't get out of my pj's today.  It felt great just to lounge around.  I watched another movie, listened to a podcast and washed my hair.  That was my day.

Tyrone (my wireless route) was acting a little finicky, so I was having trouble getting online.  Thankfully he corrected himself after a few hours.

Some random thoughts -

Did I mention there are roundabouts in parking lots?  I think they're taking the theme of having them all over the city a bit far, but they didn't ask me.

There are no stand alone coffee shops here.  Even if there were, they would probably serve the local coffee which takes a lot to get down.  It looks like tea.  Its served in small, espresso-size portions, straight - no cream or sugar.  It's an acquired taste, and I'm not there yet.  So, the only Western coffee besides Starbucks (which are only found in malls), is instant. Before you coffee snobs turn up your nose, it's really good.  Nescafe makes a single serving coffee pouch that already has the cream and sugar in it.  You just add the hot water and you're good to go.  I have some in my office so that the teachers can start their day with coffee if they want.

You can tell the direction of the wind by the way the sand moves across the roads. Its such a fine sand, just a gentle breeze causes it to move.

I have yet to see a hardware store.  There's nothing like a Home Depot or Lowe's. There is an Ace Hardware in one of the malls, but it's a crime calling it a hardware store.  There's not much to it at all.  You can find a pretty decent supply of hardware stuff in the grocery stores.  Remember, these stores also sell appliances and electronics.  They're the one-stop shop for all your shopping needs.

There are also not many restaurants.  Not for a city this size.  I don't think the concept of eating out is as big in this country.  I think most of their gatherings are at their homes.  Everyone has someone to cook for them, so it's no big deal to entertain at home.  You just let the help know how many you're expecting.

Paper napkins are hard to find.  Most places use Kleenex instead.

Notebook paper is a novelty, too.  Lots of notebooks of various sizes, but not a lot of notebooks that uses filler paper.  The notebooks or binders I've seen have either two or four holds.

Looking for thank you cards proved challenging, too.  You can only find them at a card shop.

I've looked high and low for Parmesan Cheese.  I'm told you can find it, but it's a rarity.

So are Jelly Beans.  I found them at Ferrari World, and the other day, I found them tucked away in one of the grocery stores.  They haven't caught on here.

I ate a piece of fruit and I'm not quite sure what it was.  It was pale green and looked like a pear, but was rounder.  I bought two pieces.  The first one wasn't ripe when I cut it.  It was hard and smelled pretty awful.  I waited a few days to tackle the other one, and it was softer, didn't smell and tasted  . . . interesting.  I should have taken a picture of it.  Not sure I'll ever buy it again.

On the rare days I've been out late, I've seen women out by themselves.  It really is one of the safest places places for women I've ever seen.  The men are very respectful.  I've mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating.  Men do not approach you or start a conversation with you.  They will only speak if you generate the conversation.  Even then, most are pretty shy.  An expat making advances toward women would be given a one-way ticket out of town.  Folks know that and are on their best behavior.

It looks like men outnumber by a large margin.  Not sure if that's factual or not, but you see many more men out and about than women.  All of the construction and building is done by men, all of the public works projects, the service workers in the stores, etc.

I just called Frankie and he was a work.  I thought it was Saturday.  I'm still working on getting used to working from Sunday to Thursday.

I just rented more movies to watch.  They'll be my treats.  I reward myself often.  I'm learning to be good to me.  It only took me 55 years to get here.  That's OK.  Some folks never make it.  I'm grateful I did.

How do you treat yourself?