I Resign

Three and a half weeks into our two years in Tanzania I am already resigning myself to a few realities.

I'm resigned that Jaden's skin and the Tanzanian plants/air/animals may not be a great match. (At least the allergy medicine that he's on now has stopped him from itching all day.)

I'm resigned to sleeping under mosquito netting. Although it may seem romantic from a far, it is a big pain in the ass to climb in and out of bed and find the "door" in the netting when you are trying to pee in the middle of the night.

I'm resigned to not having my favorite lunch - a deli turkey sandwich on whole wheat with light mayo and Trader Joe's Red Pepper Spread. There is no turkey deli meat here. And there is no Trader Joe's Red Pepper Spread, although when the red pepper season arrives I might be able to re-create it. (BTW... we do have Subway here... and even though the Turkey Sub is on the menu in every store, there is NEVER any turkey. I find this insulting.)

I'm resigned to having to spend all day shopping for a simple item - like a non-plastic lamp for my bed stand. There is no such thing as Target here. Want a lamp? Visit 15 different markets/mini-stores until you can find something you can live with.

I'm resigned to never having a solid poop again. Although I haven't been sick, the consistency of things has certainly changed and based on previous experience, may not go back until I get pregnant again. (And there is fat chance of that happening.)

I'm resigned to having this list grow over the next several weeks. But I'm hoping to counter it with an even longer list of all the wonderful discoveries I've made.