Life here vs Life there

I've been thinking about the dailyness (yes I made up a word) of living here vs living in the States.  There are so many little things that make living in a third world different on a daily level. Even though we're in an upscale home, daily living is not the same.  Here are a few of them:

Washing dishes by hand with hard soap and cold water
Lighting the stove with a match
Taking a cold shower (and trying not to shower at night or in the morning because the water's even colder)
Walking to an outdoor market to buy fruit (I bought a papaya over 3 ft long for 1 dollar!)
Not eating cheese (it's very expensive and tastes like farm)
Not drinking milk everyday (again, very expensive and it comes in boxes or bags not refrigerated)
Drinking all drinks lukewarm (it's tough to bring ice home without it melting)
Living outside (houses here have an open courtyard, with an open roof)
Turning on individual air conditioning units in the rooms
putting bug spray on everyday (because houses have open roofs)
shooing the ants away out of your food
inability to make a phone call to family
no TV
no video games
no fast food
my 6 kids in one room
chasing mice (my kids have already caught one and are chasing one now as I write this blog)
no can opener
reading in a hammock
church bells at 6:30, 6:45 and 7:00 am every morning
pool!

walking, walking, walking

This may not be everyone's experience, but it's the difference in our lives.  Some things frustrating, some things awesome!