my life is not what i thought it would be.

I speak Arabic on a daily basis. I make taxi drivers laugh. I don't look both ways before crossing the street and I am no longer phased by people yelling outside my house. My local TV station interrupts programming, reminding me it's time to pray. Chaos is the norm and traffic lights just get in the way. Wal-Mart and Target are a distant memory. Dr Pepper and Oreos are a valuable commodity and Chick-fil-a, well that's just a dream out of reach.

I have friends that are scattered all over the world. I read their blogs about life in the culture they find themselves in and I laugh because I feel like I could've written the same thing. Everything is different, yet everything is the same. I think it speaks to the idea that no matter where you are, people are essentially the same. They may look different, speak another language and have different ideas about life and family, but they all want and need the same thing.

Currently, horns are honking and my neighbors on the 3rd floor have been drilling on their balcony for two days now. I never saw myself here, but I can't imagine living any place else. My life is not what I thought it would be.