Normality?

What's normal?  I've been thinking about that quite a lot recently - I had a conversation with a friend a few weeks ago, where I was telling her about my life here.  After describing a day where there had been shooting in another area of town, but we were advised not to go out, I think I said something like "but its just normal." My friend was horrified that I thought that was normal and its not in most places in the world, but here it is.

That doesn't mean there is shooting outside my house every day (in fact that hasn't occurred while I've been here) but it does mean its normal to have a heightened sense of what goes on around you.

This week I accidently left my office without my chador (headscarf) on and caught a couple of men staring at me (they tend to do this a bit anyway) and I realised my mistake.  I felt naked and quickly put my scarf back on.  It's funny how normal its become to wear it.

So this led me to think what other things are normal here, but not elsewhere?  Iodine-ing fruit and veg before you eat it, getting dressed to go to bed, driving on whichever side of the road is clear, greeting every person individually when you walk into a room.

Then I got to thinking what's normal in the UK but not elsewhere?  Calling dessert pudding, trifle, the importance of punctuality, not talking to people when you get in a lift and probably lots more.

So I'm left with the conclusion that normal is relative, and I'm probably not living a normal life by most people's standards but its normal for me!

A not so normal scene!