What I Miss Is A Bookshelf
What is miss is a bookshelf. Not just the ability to have many books at the same time, but the actual books themselves, stacked vertically, the titles popping out at me every time I walk past, begging to be read. And which will I choose, and what will be the next to add to my collection?
After that, probably hot water. Hot water, and good food. “Solid food,” I’ve begun to call it. Did you know that most of the world eats mush? Or rice. Mush with rice is also popular.
Movies. Even when there’s a movie theater around, it’s usually not playing anything in English. I go anyway; sometimes there are subtitles and sometimes there aren’t. The films are usually pretty cool, but— imagine only being able to rent foreign films.
Girls. Okay. Yeah, definitely. Oh, wait. Right, I should explain. The thing about the locals is that there are serious problems with both health and culture. Like the HIV rate and not knowing whether I’m supposed to marry her or I’ve just ruined her virtue or something.
The ability to get stuff generally. Superstores. Surplus electronic parts dealers. Also a phone book in an alphabet than I can read. Ordering online. Ordering online! UPS + Internet gets you anything in two days. But not here.
And I miss being able to acquire things without worrying about their weight. Assuming that the electricity will be on. Being able to read street signs reliably. Sidewalks. Privacy. Dear god, privacy! And I my friends, duh. I miss my friends. It takes a lot of energy to recreate my whole social life from scratch every month or so. There is also a shortage of lights that aren’t fluorescent. Toilets are different here too. You’ll see.
I’ve told you already why I’m out here. It’s worth it. I’m not complaining.
