It's not bad, it's just different (or "Every morning there is fresh lizard poo in the shower")

Something that our family says to each other often is, "It's not bad, it's just different." And we say this often because there are a whole bunch of things here in Senegal that are really different. And if you are not careful, you will begin to think that different is bad because different can sometimes make you feel uncomfortable or uneasy. So we use this little saying to remind each other that different is not always bad, it is just...well...it is just different.

With that being said, here is a list of our most recent uses of this saying:

Every morning there is fresh lizard poo in the shower. It's not bad, it's just different.

I hear "Toubab cadeau" so much from the kids I see that I am beginning to think that it is my name. It's not bad, it's just different. ("Toubab" means "white person" in the local language and "cadeau" is the French word for "gift." Together it simply means, "White person give me a gift.")

I just ate "crevettes" which are like pork skins that taste like shrimp. It's not bad, it's just different.

A family of squirrels or rats or mice (our Senegalese friends cannot seem to agree on what they are) lives over our kitchen. It's not bad, it's just different. (Though this one seems bad!)

Ants are taking over the interior of our house. It's not bad, it's just different. (Though maybe this one is bad too.)

When I cook (in our outdoor kitchen) every single animal in our zoo-like atmosphere begins to encircle the kitchen in anticipation. It's not bad, it's just different.

At any given moment, a child's face can appear in our window intent on getting a glimpse of the "secret life" of the Toubabs. It's  not bad, it's just different.

I eat french bread with chocolate spread on it nearly every morning for breakfast. It's not bad, it's  just different. (We also file this one under, "Things we would never, ever let our kids do if we still lived in the US.")

Most children are fascinated by the hair on my arms. It's not bad, it's just different; that is until they actually pull the hair on my arms.

I take a bath from a bucket.  It's not bad, it's just different. (Did we already mention the lizard poo?)

And if you let it, different can also be a whole lot of fun! (Maybe with the possible exception of the ants and the lizard poo.)