20 little things and signs that London is a long way away!

1. I wake up everyday at 5am to the sound of the Mosque nearby

2. I feel cold, when the temperature drops below 30C

3. A tee-shirt, a wrapped around piece of fabric and some plastic flip-flops have become everyday casual clothes… why did I ever wear socks already?

4. Nescafé tastes better with three sugars and tea is Lipton with half a green lemon

5. I eat a plate of benga* for breakfast and don’t think twice about a chocolate croissant

6. I jam in the back of a green taxi next to two ladies, one old man and a baby, the windscreen is held by brown bits of cellotape, the doors open from the outside...

7. Degué** in a bag has replaced 'tall skinny latte' in a stiro foam cup

8. I don’t mind the bus being delayed one hour, as we are waiting for the incoming bus to arrive, so we can take its batteries and get going, what was so terrible already about sitting on the Northern Line with a copy of Metro?

9. Overtake a donkey cart to work, then a motorbike covered in 60 fluffy chicken hanging by their legs, then a camel...

10. I wait until the end of the month, to get a Telmob bonus to recharge my mobile phone

11. The smell of soumbala coming from the neighbours courtyard on a Sunday evening has replaced the smell of BBQ sausages

12. It seems more obvious to carry stuff on your head than in a backpack, although I could never get it right… It seems easier to carry kids in your back, and gravity here means they never ever fall, just cling on to their mums’ backs…

13. Reading McCarthy’s Bar, listening to Damien Rice or watching movies on my pc is an exotic way to spend a Saturday afternoon

14. Everything slowly but surely takes the colour red from the dust, books, clothes, walls, my lungs I fear…

15. Going to a meeting in a UN building and taking the lift feels… exciting and strangely corporate!

16. I keep old papers for my next door neighbour to wrap the little doughnuts she bakes in the street in

17. Geckos and lizards have replaced cats and pigeons in the garden

18. Mangoes and papayas vs raspberries and rhubarb

19. I worry the price of tomatoes has doubled since last month, but can’t remember the price of an Oyster card

20. The shelves are empty at the lebanese Supermarket… "No milk today… my love has gone away…"

* Red beans

** Sugary yoghurt with semolina or millet