The Comfort of Familiarity

I've been working in the coal mines for almost a month now, and I've started to notice some similarities between working here, and in Egypt. Here are the top 5 similarities:

Dust. Coal dust is everywhere here! Somehow coal dust flies through the air and lands on everything in my office. I'll wipe off my desk, and then 5 minutes later I run my fingers across the desk and find them black. Egypt was covered in sand. Sand would make its way through the air and into every nook and cranny of my life. The main difference is that the dust here is pure black.

Morning clouds. I often walk to my bus stop here in Elkford and catch the clouds still sleeping with the trees. The creeks and rivers have mist rising from them as well. Most mornings in Egypt I would bike to work through a thick cloud of smog and pollution that had settled on the streets overnight. Sometimes it would be so thick that it would burn my eyes. Some times you could barely see more than a block or two away because the smog was so thick in the mornings.

Cheap Rent. I pay $200 a month for my place in Elkford. I paid even less than that in Egypt.

Friendly People. Unlike Calgary, people in Elkford actually make eye contact with you when you pass them in the streets. Many people wave, or say hello to you here. Of course, that's probably because you know all of them. In Egypt, people would definitely wave and say "Hallo, what's your name?" as you passed them in the streets.

Dishes. We have no dishwasher here. Or rather, the dishwasher is named Matt and Ryan. I hate that joke. I also hate doing dishes. This was the situation in Egypt as well, only the dishwasher was named Rob and Ryan. I miss the days of chasing after Rob trying to whip him with a wet towel.

Well, those are the top 5 similarities between living here and in Egypt. Stay tuned for the "Top 5 Signs You're in a Small Town".