In a country that hovers around the equator, I figured that my new home would be very different than my last one, but of course those differences are never exactly what I’d expect them to be.

Besides driving on opposite sides of the roads and there being few (if any) discernible traffic laws, there are other differences that totally surprised me.

Drug trafficking is punishable by death…and you are informed of this on the plane during the recorded safety announcements.  Even possessing marijuana is pretty serious, resulting in automatic jail time.  So kids, just say “no!”

You must declare a religion when opening a bank account.  I’m told this relates to how you are allowed to deal with your money in accordance with whichever holy book you follow.  Definitely didn’t expect that one.

Liquid comes in bags here.  Whether it be cooking oil, or laundry detergent, many liquid products that I would expect to come in bottle or can form comes in a bag.

Back home, the darker the tan you have, the more exotic you look and the more you stand out, usually in a good way.  It gives off the impression that you’ve been traveling around tropical islands enjoying a life of leisure.  Over here there is a draw towards white skin.  I noticed this immediately when shopping in any store with a health and beauty section.  About half of the beauty products contain skin bleachers to whiten skin…something I’m sure to avoid for many reasons.

The rain dictates what I do day-to-day.  The nights that it doesn’t rain I usually go up to the food court.  It’s usually a place I stop by after work since it’s really close to school and on the way home.  But even if I have the day off, I make the 20 minute walk there to use the free wi-fi with my laptop.  Since it’s the rainy season, the heavens can open up and flood 70% of my walk so I take the dry opportunities as they come.

Cigarettes are everywhere.  I’m definitely in the minority by not smoking.  Some establishments have a time limit where you are allowed to smoke inside after a certain time of the evening, but it still makes me miss the “no smoking” laws back home.  I hate being around smoke all the time.  Alas, with everyone here starting to smoke at a young age and with cigarettes being so cheap, I don’t see that scenario changing any time soon.

Listening to the music here is like stepping into a time machine.  From the times I’ve traveled around in vehicles with radios rocking out, I’ve noticed that they play a lot of 80’s and 90’s music.  Specifically Queen, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Scorpions.  And as far as live music goes, everyone seems to choose Mr. Big, Extreme, Firehouse, Bon Jovi, and John Denver’s “I’m leavin’ on a jet plane.”  Not bad choices, I happen to enjoy this selection, but this is pretty much ALL I hear.

It’s been fun finding all of these idiosyncrasies.  I’m sure that more will turn up, so stay tuned.