Things that start to drive you mad

First, I have to say that I am very grateful that the crazy guy in Florida didn't burn any Qu'ran's. It is sometimes difficult to be an American living in the Middle East, especially when other Americans choose to deliberately insult Islam.

There are certain conveniences and things that you do not even realize are a part of your daily life until they are gone. This is a sample of some of the things that are starting to drive me slightly insane. So, please excuse my mini-rant.

There are no manila folders or hanging files. Imagine life with piles of paper that are in plastic sleeves with no labels. Piles of them. Supposedly, there are files out there, we just don't have them.

The water drips in my toilet, constantly.

There is no recycling. Not even people who come through and pick through the garbage like in Chicago. Everything here gets thrown away. It just seems like a lot of waste to me.

There is a constant film of grit that covers everything, including the inside of my mouth.

It is hot. It is starting to cool down at night, but it is still a hundred some odd degrees out during the day and that is just too darn hot.

There are grasshoppers the size of my hand and when they hit you in the head it feels like a bird has landed on you.

There are ants everywhere. Every morning when I go to the kitchen I kill them. I realize that I am a vegetarian, but I cannot think of any humane way to get rid of them.

I can't go for a walk. If I want to just wander around town and go for a walk, I can't. Granted, I have it better then the embassy folks who have to wear a flack jacket whenever they are in the car, but still. I have very little freedom and someone has to know where I am at all times.

I live in my office- 'nough said.

This is the most tragic one of all...a lot of our T.V. channels come from Saudi Arabia and are subject to censorship. I was watching the end of Pride and Prejudice (the Kiera Knightley version) and they cut the final kiss along with the proposal scene. I mean seriously, how racy can Pride and Prejudice be!!!

I have a king size bed, which is actually way too big for me (yeah, I know, tragic). I sleep with my bad leg hanging off the bottom of the bed, because my ankle doesn't lay flat and that is difficult to do in a huge bed. Anyway, I have a queen size top sheet as my bottom sheet and a queen size duvet as my top sheet and a queen size blanket made out of some slippery fabric. Every night I have to re-tuck the bottom sheet and I wake up cold every hour because the blanket has slid to the floor. It does not make for very a very restful night.

I know that compared to some international postings, I actually have it quite posh. We have internet, air conditioning (at least when the electricity works) and a nice T.V., but when you have given up your job, family and friends and traveled half way across the world there are certain things that can start to really get to you.

I really miss cottage cheese, whole wheat and brown sugar. Not to mention Thai food. Oh well, at the same time I have been on a culinary adventure and had the opportunity to try some amazing things.