Getting Used to Things
I was sitting at work today and I saw that one of the teachers was sleeping at her desk and it did not make me stop and think about what I was seeing. In the past eight and half months I have adjusted to some things over here. I have not adjusted to everything and I still get shocked of course but I am slowly getting used to life over here.
I no longer think “What the heck” when I see/notice:
· Teachers sleeping at their desks
· Teachers sleeping during a conference
· Same sex students holding hands
· Students changing out of their uniforms into their gym clothes in their homerooms (the gym clothes are underneath the uniforms)
· Students helping each other with their school work (would not go over well back in the States)
· Some odd creature with tentacles in my lunch
· Some fish with eyes in my lunch (not saying I will eat it but it doesn’t freak me out)
· Teachers talking about the difference in the rice that they had today as compared to the rice they had yesterday (there are differences)
· The object known as a spork (spoon/fork combo)
· The principle trimming trees
· When the teachers look up say “Earthquake” and then go back to whatever they were doing
· Teachers talking about the typhoon that was coming like it was just another thunderstorm
· The United States of America being referred to as “America” instead of “The States”
· When I drive past a school and still see teacher’s cars there at 8:00pm (or later)
· Random former students walking into the teachers room
· Drinking green tea in the morning instead of coffee
· People riding on their bikes, holding an umbrella, and talking/e-mailing on their cell phones
· People that think traveling three hours is a long way from home (I went to college three hours from home and everyone states “That is so far”)
· Measuring distance with hours by train instead of hours by car
· Dogs that appear to be treated as the owners child; made up, dressed up, and traveling everywhere with their owner
· That people say the stop lights are “Red, Yellow, Blue” (really, they are red, yellow, green but somewhere green was called blue)
· Vending machines that have alcohol
· Vending machines that have cigarettes
These are some things that really made me stop and take a second look when I first go here now they are just part of life. To be honest I really struggled to come up with this list…
Andrea and Jana, what did I miss?