Then and Now

After living in Samoa for nearly eight months, I thought it would be fun to look back and see how my life has changed from what it use to be back in the United States.

1. I now carry a tala in my wallet instead of a dollar.
2. I can speak a second language.
3. Fungus grows on my legs.
4. Heat rash runs ramped across my arms.
5. I sleep under a mosquito net.
6. Eating dinner, I sit on a floor mat.
7. Before going to the bathroom, I inspect around the toilet for spiders, centipedes and cockroaches.
8. I wear mosquito repellent on a daily basis.
9. When out in the sun, I wonder if I might be developing cataracts or skin cancer from the intense rays of the sun.
10. Reading a newspaper or magazine from two or three months ago seems like new news.
11. I now have to run for 20 minutes in order to capture a cell phone signal.
12. I am limited to updating my status on Facebook to about four times a month instead of four times a week.
13. I no longer drive a car but instead ride in a bus.
14. I live next to an ocean.
15. I live on an island.
16. Before drinking water I boil it and run it through a filter.
17. My electricity goes off about every other day for several hours.
18. I send more hand written letters than I do emails.
19. When ridding in a vehicle, I travel on the left hand side of the road and when jogging run on the right side.
20. I experience earthquakes several times a week and tsunami warnings a few times a year.
21. Bananas grow in my front and back yard.
22. I experience cyclones instead of snow storms.
23. A weekend trip involves an overnight stay on a sandy beach in an open thatched hut.
24. My toothbrush handle molds so much I have to switch to a new one every couple of months.
25. I’m employed by the U.S. Government.
26. When going for a walk I have to look out for falling coconuts.
27. I do my laundry by hand in a bucket.
28. I take cold showers.
29. I’m given an extension on filing my taxes.
30. I live in the Southern hemisphere.