From being here for a couple months now, I have considered lots of things that I have taken for granted in the United States as well as things I am still thankful for. (These are in no particular order.)
Things I have taken for granted in the United States:
1. Access to healthier food: (better quality/ more options. ex: They don't have as a wide variety of milk, butter and cheese. Also, it is very hard to find peanut butter.)
2. The quality/ more options of consumable products such as shampoo, hand soap, etc.
3. Warm water in showers.
4. A dryer for laundry.
5. A dish washer.
6. Being able to flush toilet paper.
7. Paper towels. (however, they are used sparingly)
8. Dollar bills. (Most of the time you give a clerk or cashier a five, a ten or a twenty, sometimes they will give you a five or ten in return, but most people here use dollar coins instead of dollar bills. The coins are a little harder to carry on me.)
9. Traffic laws/ safety in transit. (To say the least, it is safer to travel in the US)
10. Dog control.
11. Waste management.
12. Quite nights. (Sometimes there are nights when the dogs never stop barking. Also, the roosters will start to crow at 4am.)
13. All four seasons. (Here in the Andees, for the most part, the weather is the same year round. The sun rises at 6am and sets at 6pm. It stays around 65- 75 degrees year round which is nice. It is also nice through to live where there are all four seasons.)
14. Last but certainly not least... Red Robin Hamburgers!
Things I am thankful for:
1. The Lord's grace and hope in his promises.
2. Close knit families.
3. My host family.
4. Family and friends I still have at home.
5. Ability to still communicate with ppl back home.
6. A quality education.
7. That English is my first language.
8. The opportunity to serve here.
9. The beauty of the landscape and night sky.
10. Warm/ temporate climate.
11. Health
12. A water filter.
13. Bread, Rice, Soup.
14. The Bible.
15. Spiritual Freedom.
16. The ability to learn and grow.
17. Plumbing.
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I know how you feel about taking things for granted in the US.
ReplyDeleteHere in Australia, most families don't have dishwashers or dryers. But the community formed with my host family washing dishes after dinner is amazing! And hanging my clothes outside to dry has been an adventure, esp when it rains on them.....
and the whole dollar coin thing...they use coins for $1 and 2$ in Australia.