Dodowa vs. Barcelona

As it turns out, there exist some differences between a village in Ghana and a bustling city in Spain. Here are five differences of note from the past two days:

1. Fruits & vegetables - Out of the typhoid, malaria, et al. zone, I've immensely enjoyed getting to eat fruits and vegetables that can't or shouldn't be peeled in uncooked form again. Selections from the past 48 hours include pear, apple, plum, pepper, carrots, and zucchini. Yum.
2. Running water - I found that I use water differently now that I'm so used to bucket showers. It no longer makes sense for the shower to run for five minutes straight or for the tap to run for the ten seconds it takes me to apply soap to my hands. Once you've had all your water carried to your house in buckets (note: I tried it; water is heavy) by small children for a couple of weeks, every drop has a lot more significance.
3. Electricity - The power is on right now. It was yesterday and will be tomorrow. Nice but vaguely unsettling in its surety.
4. Greetings - Everybody greets everybody when passing on the street in Ghana. If you're within two feet of another person, it's considered rude not to say "good morning", "good afternoon", or "good evening". People in big cities tend to give you strange looks when you offer a simple "hello" ("hola") or even make eye contact. It's very different.
5. Walking in groups - Yesterday, I was walking with another girl and we passed a pair coming from the other direction. She went around them to the right, I to the left. In Ghana, we would both have passed to the same side of the other group. It's believed that when you cross members with another group in passing, your luck crosses with theirs. You may get good luck, but you'll also get their bad luck. Crossing paths with another group is thus avoided.

So yes, I'm readjusting to walking down streets and the constancy of electricity in the Western world. That's an aftereffect of a month in Ghana for you.