Different?

As we transition from Kovol to Germany, here is a list of things that are ‘different’ during daily life and we have to get used to:

Kovol	Germany
Filter water before drinking	Drink tap water (or sparkling water)
Freeze flour and rice first to kill bugs. If needed sift bugs out.	Use it
Crack each egg separately into a cup in case it’s rotten	Use it
In the village, sit on the dirt/ ground	Table and chairs
cough/ make noise at village doors to get attention, at coworkers house say ‘knock, knock’	Use a bell
Walking inside the house can feel like an earthquake	No shaking of the house unless there is an earthquake
earthquakes are normal	Earthquakes aren’t normal
Keep oils and glass containers safe away from edges in case of an earthquake	Don’t worry where you put your glass containers
Grocery shop for 4-6 months learn to substitute while cooking	Grocery hop for about 4-6 days if you forget something go to the store again
order and plan kg’s and bulk for the flight	Shopping as you like, if you don’t find something, drive to another store
Wear baggy clothes	baggy and tight/fitting clothes are fine
Clothes have stains and holes; you fit in	If your clothes have holes or bad stains, you are out of place
In the night there is ‘outside noise’ (dogs, pigs, bats, insects)	Maybe some ‘car’ noises or a river but nothing sudden, loud or disturbing from the outside
you can’t have conversation at the table during a heavy rain: it’s too loud	When the rain hits, it doesn’t affect you much as long as you stay in the house.
If noise from people comes from around my house, look outside to check for visitors. It happens several times a day.	If people are on the walk way, ignore them. Random people walking around in your yard can be concerning
Internet isn’t reliable and it’s slow.	Fast internet, very reliable
Recently available dish soap wasn’t so soapy	A little dish soap and I already have trouble getting the soap off my plate because it’s so soapy =D
Laundry needs time… hand fill the tub for wash and let the agitator turn the clothes. Put clothes into a spinner. Put rinsing water in and rinse clothes. Put clothes into a spinner. I feel lucky I don’t have to wash clothes down the mountain at the river like my friends do. Clothes might take 2-3 days for drying	Turn on a button. Everything goes automatically.
Summer: save water in the house. Don’t always flush afterwards if it’s ‘yellow’. Mainly when it’s brown. Reuse laundry water. Turn water off quickly always.	Even if I want to save water, I’m not worried it will run out.
Kids play outside, they are always dirty, and I clean their feet (or more) every time they have been outside	They just walk in. Even if they keep their shoes on my house might not get really dirty
Floor and laundry water will always be dirty. Daily lots of dust comes down from the ceiling. It’s normal	House stays clean a long time even without me cleaning it
It’s dark at 6:30 p.m. It gets light at 6 a.m.	summer 10:30 p.m. it’s dark. Kids find it hard to go to bed at 7:30pm
Going for a walk, you are almost never alone.	Go for walks alone or with others as you like
You almost always talk to almost everyone you meet on the road.	Don’t talk to everyone on the road
Greeting someone on the road: ask them where they are going, or tell them where you are going	If you know someone, say hi, but asking where they are going might be rude depending on the relationship
Packets can take 9 months.	1-2 days
If I want to go somewhere, I walk.	Use a car, train, bus, bike, or the underground….
Want to get out to town? book a chopper (or hike)	Use a car, train, bus, or the underground….
Covid– what is this? Everyone has colds many times. Hospital, masks, covid tests, immunizations… are not available here. (In town they are and it’s different there)	Covid always on the news, on people’s minds, many different opinions, resources all available