Things That Take Time to Become Accustomed To...

1.  There is a dog symphony that plays each night.  I wish I could do my impression of it here... it really has gotten very accurate.  There is a big dog that lives in the back yard that has the deepest yowl. It participates with the yippy dogs in the neighborhood and they all play their parts. 

2.  Getting anywhere is made up of a series of unknown steps ... so much so that each bus you board that goes in the right direction feels like a big accomplishment.  A trip consists of this: Stand on the road. Speak to closest random person without i-phones in their ears.  "Usted sabe cual bus va a (insert town here)?" You then get a variety of answers, all helpful, but only some correct.  You see, nobody wants to not know; they'd rather say something than say they don't know.  This really makes me use the rule of 3.  If I ask 3 people and two say the same thing... I know what to do. 

3.  People never have the right of way.  Cars always do. 

4.  I had forgotten that sometimes someone boards the bus and begins his "infomercial" for whatever he is selling.  I mean, hey, captive audience - right?  He then walks down the aisle and people actually buy the product, even if it is a Rosary.

5.  Houses are not built to keep sound in any one room.  In fact, there are holes in the walls in which one can and does hear every conversation everywhere.

6.  Communicating in Spanish is very tiring.  Even though I am getting really good at it, after a long day of traveling it can be a little too much.

7.  It is very exciting to the workers in the hostel you are staying in when they get the lights in your room to work!  Yay, accomplishments!  

I am sure I will add to this list a lot, but this is all I can think of right now.   Living in another country can be really trying and hard.  It is always an adventure, though.