When I first arrived to Thailand all of the following seemed strange to me. Now they have become normal.
1. You consider barbecued pork and sticky rice an appropriate breakfast.
2. You accidentally say "open the light" instead of "turn on the light."
3. Anything more than $1 for lunch seems expensive.
4. You carry around a sweat rag, also known as a handkerchief, to mop your forehead and neck because not sweating is just not an option.
5. 99% of the time you use public transportation, including buses, motorbike taxis, the sky train, song taows, subway, taxis, and tuk tuks, or you just walk.
6. You consider bread and cheese luxury food.
7. You don't feel silly using an umbrella in the sun because it is actually cooler that way.
8. If you don't have an umbrella, you hold whatever is in your hands, be it a bag of vegetables, your purse or a book, over your head to shade you from the sun.
9. You go to 7-11 almost every day because it seems to have everything and you pass one (or more) every block.
10. Thai and English can be used interchangeably, without much notice as to which language is being spoken or heard at any given time.
11. Rice is a staple, eaten at least once, if not three times, a day.
And last, but not least...
12. You have mastered the art of swatting away mosquitoes while using a squatty potty.
I miss many (but not all) of these things as I've said goodbye (for now) to Thailand. But I'm looking forward to China becoming home and being able to make a new list after I've lived there a while.
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