1.) No Olympics - seems not to be part of the national culture. can't find them even on TV
2.) Power outages - random, one hour intervals about 5 times a day
3.) No legs. Legs are always covered, men and women. Except mine, sometimes, when running - it's
4.) Toxic water. Everywhere - the water is bad news. It's strange to have to always be actively avoiding water: how to wash anything? the fact that the toxic water and open sewers have nowhere to drain to, no high-low elevation to encourage flow, doesn't help
5.) Beggars. are everywhere - they can be really aggressive and change the experience of this place. in stopped traffic our car with westerners inevitably gets stormed with kids and old people and mothers and babies begging... it's awful and induces negative emotions in me that surprise me. it also gets you thinking about ways to contribute to this place constructively - i've not been giving to beggars. working on a plan to give back some money other ways...
