In Canada

When we lived in Canada, there were a few things that we really did take for granted...

Kraft creamy peanut butter. We brought along one jar but we have already used a third of it. I know this type of peanut butter is all fake and mostly made of sugars and additives but it is my favorite type of peanut butter. Here one can get all natural peanut butter but I don't really like nuts and natural peanut butter is really really nutty and crunchy. With time perhaps I will adjust.

The first dusting of snow. I don't like cold and I really don't like winter but there is something magical with the first sprinkle of snow on the ground. Looking out in the winter to see the hills covered in white. Here the closest we get to having something resemble that first snowfall happens when we do not dust the house for 3 days.

Fast internet. Here Internet is slow. Painfully slow. pages with flash or many pictures take a long long time to load. There is slow internet or even slower internet here. We are grateful to have internet but should we ever have faster internet again, I hope I never complain about having Internet that takes less then five minutes to load Facebook.

Road rules. Some people may think traffic rules are in place only to irritate drivers. I would invite those people to come to Togo to see what happens when there are no real rules on the road. Turning signals are optional and can mean a variety of different things such as 'it is safe to pass, or don't pass me.' Usually you can stay safe if you remember the crucial rule: 'he who drives the largest vehicle will always win.' That and not all taxis are safe and their drivers aren't always sober. Even in the middle of the afternoon.