...You squeeze every last drop out of shampoo/face cream/shower gel bottles (even cutting the lids off to get to the hard to reach stuff) cos you don't know when your next parcel from back home will come
...You have 3 types of tea; the imported tetley tea bags which are reserved for yourself. The local stuff which is used when people come over and the random tea/coffee/powdered milk that zawwar (religious pilgrims) leave behind
...You can have upto five types of Chevro (Bombay mix) in your cupboard at anyone time. And all of it has been left behind by zawwars. I still have yet to understand why people think bringing chevro on a trip is a good idea. You need spoons and bowls to eat it with, it's messy and it makes you thirsty.
...You become an expert at airline weight restrictions. Hell, you even book your ticket with the airline that gives you the most. You can pack your suitcase to within 100g of the allowance. And you have even perfected the 'puppy dog' look for the check in staff in country of origin to make them give you an extra few kilos. Obviously going back home is easier - you can slip the check-in guy $20 and he'll let you off with the excess luggage!
...You have worn 4 layers of clothes (and even worn a winter jacket in summer) on your return flight so that you can bring the last few clothes that won't fit in your suitcase.
...You look like a refugee with 3 pieces of hand luggage
...Your parents are experts at finding passengers to bring the much missed goodies from back home (thank you to everyone who has kept us topped up with dairy milk - we love you lots!)
...You don't mind when zawwar leave behind chevro, biscuits, shower gels, even broken biscuits. They are a reminder of back home. Again, thanks to you all! We love you too!
...You write lists of things to do back home in the summer and they include mundane things like 'go to Tesco'
...You consider Primark clothes to be good quality, because they are - compared to the rubbish you get out here!
... You don't feel hot when temperatures reach 30 degrees back home. Its not really hot until its 53 degrees (Anyone remember Qum, Summer 2009??)
...You don't flinch when you see cockroaches or ants. And you are used to seeing hundreds of stray cats. (and on that subject, I have yet to figure out one thing - there are thousands of stray cats and dogs here, but where are their droppings??? This is proving to be one of life's mysteries)
...You throw the concept of recycling out of the window. In fact the closest you get to recycling is bagging up bottles and cans separate from the rest of the garbage so the people who search through the dumpsters for things they can sell have an easier job
...You get home to find that the grocer has sold you out of date groceries, but you lack the language skills to go back and complain
...You are asked the same questions by all the zawwar who visit. And try and put the answers on your blog, but quickly realise that no one bothers to read it.
...You learn how quickly the fresh produce goes bad and shop for the week and not a tomato more than you need
...You learn which fruits are in season during the year from their prices
...You know every decent eatery within a 5 mile radius because there are so few of them and you are on first name terms with the owner and you know what you are going to eat before you even leave the house!
...You have a profound relationship with the sayyidda of the town (the decendant of the holy prophet) who is buried in your neighbourhood. She is everything from a surrogate mother to confidante
...You realise that what you learnt in Sunday school barely even built the boat that set off on the sea of knowledge. You start to appreciate the lengths that our aalims go through to research and learn in order to relate it back to us. And you seriously worry about people who sit on the mimber without studying
...You miss home, especially the friends and family and going out. But in reality, you wouldn't give upthisnew lifestyle, even for mountain of gold
BEFORE
