Downside and Upside

We've been in the Middle East almost a week now, and I haven't adjusted a bit! Here's a look at my last week:

On the downside, I have the worst case of jet lag I've ever suffered. Waking at 2 a.m., sleeping til 11, napping in the afternoons, tossing and turning at bed time--and I'm eternally tired.

On the upside, I don't have anything special to do, so I can pretty much sleep whenever I want. Including the middle of the day, if I want.

On the downside, I have to adjust my diet...again. This is because I can't always find the ingredients I want (the grocery store here is a total crap shoot--some days you find delicious organic granola bars; other days you can't find frozen food--like, you can't find any frozen food, at all.)

On the upside, I am 100 percent in control of the menu at my house! Which means I get to eat things like tofu and lentils, when I can find them.

On the downside, I have yet to get into the swing of a schedule, and I probably won't until Ramadan is over. A big chunk of my time is normally devoted to language-learning, but my teacher/student will be celebrating Ramadan and then Eid for a few weeks yet, meaning we won't be having any lessons. Also, a bunch of people will be vacationing over the break coming up week after next, so I probably won't get into the swing until after everyone gets back.

On the upside, Husband and I are officially back into spending all day on Fridays on marathon dates--and I can't wait to swing dance, get coffee, and play racquetball this week. (p.s.--I could not spell "racquetball" for the life of me. I had to have the computer do it.)

On the downside, it's butt-hot here.

On the upside, our air-conditioning is working, thank God!