First World Third World Fridays...and some thoughts for flavor

Greetings all,

          So I know that I promised you all a series on my recent spate of travels. It's coming I promise. But in the mean time, a recent traumatic event inspired a few deep Friday thoughts.

I’ve come to realize that living in Indonesia requires a certain degree of selective amnesia. About once a day I have to forget something in order to live here and maintain my sanity. For example, a huge hairy beast of a spider crawled from behind my bed recently. When I say huge  I mean bigger than my palm, I could actually hear it moving, huge. After a twenty minute battle and half a can of insecticide I finally killed the beast. However, in order to continue sleeping peacefully in my room let alone my bed, I have to choose to forget that this little incident ever happened. I have to fool myself into believing that the appearance of a giant mutant spider was in fact a fluke, and there is no way other spiders just as large exist anywhere in my house. Selective amnesia. I use the same coping mechanism anytime I enter a car, especially when my friend Tini is driving. Even though Tini has almost killed me multiple times by pulling out into traffic or stalling out in the middle of the highway. Or for instance when one is offered a ride in the front seat of a car whose seat belt has been removed with a driver who is falling asleep while simultaneously going 95 Km/H, it really helps to pretend that traffic accidents don’t happen in this country. No, never. Through shear force of will and positive visualization, every time is like the first time. Some may call this unhealthy…I merely call it survival of the fittest.

And with that said I bring you this week's First World/Third World......

First World Problem:  It turns out the exterminator can only come Thursday morning so I guess I have to cancel my yogalates/spin class.

Third World Problem: I have to use half a can a day of local brand bugspray with unregulated amounts of DEET. As a result all of my future children will probably be born with an extra arm.