Weird things I do...or are they?

So, I will be back in the states for a short time very soon.  And I thought we could all play a little game while I am back.  The game is “find all the weird stuff I do now that I didn’t do before!”  Peace Corps makes people weird.  So below is a list of things that either I (or other PCVs from Botswana) have started to do since we arrived here.  Some are due to the Botswana influence, and some due to the PC influence.  I have included things other people do that I do not, because we all could use a little bit of misleads in this game. 

•    Saying “half three or half past three” instead of three thirty when telling the time
•    Picking my nose
•    Greeting strangers on the street
•    Talking about poop-entirely too much and at inappropriate times.
•    Doing the “uh-uh” thing that is usually reserved for babies and small kids-to adults.
•   Waving my hand in front of my face (backside out) as a non-verbal way of saying no.
•    Doubling words (now now, what what, and so on).
•    Using the words “that side” as directions.
•    Using the exclamations “eish!” and “Ow, shame!” in everyday conversation.
•    A general decline in my ability to speak English
•   Getting overwhelmed by any menu with more than a few choices
•   Talk about food, incessantly
•   Talking/pining about sex way too much
•   Binging-in regards to food.  I am talking about eating blocks of cheese at a time, or cocoa mix out of the bag with your hand, and so on.
•   Never leaving the house without water and a book
•   An intimate knowledge of the amount and kinds of cheese in my fridge (or in any fridge I have seen the inside of for thirty seconds)
•  Hoarding
•  Talking to myself or animals constantly
•   Blatantly ignoring people trying to get my attention because I think they are going to hit on me or ask me for money
•   Not washing sheets, for an extended period of time
•   Re-wear clothes many times
•   Saying bath instead of bathe
•   Hit people with my bag passive aggressively who refuse to make room
•   Apathy about bugs in food
•   When shaking hands holding my left hand near my right elbow
•   Doing the above when taking something from someone else with one hand
•   When counting on my fingers I often start with the pinky 

I would like to thank the following people to contributing to this list: Mia, Claire, Julia, Ashley, Margie, Dana and Shannon

And now I want to do a quick little update from a blog I called Goal 4 from a while back.  I had four goals that I still wanted to accomplish and here is a progress update on them.

• Read 300 books:  Well I am currently up to 232 books, so I am getting there
• Edit the novel: Have not touched this one yet
• Run a marathon: Completed in 4:18:40.  WOOHOO!
• Figure out the next step:  I finally have a complete list of graduate school programs I am applying for.  I am applying at the following 4 schools: The United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica, San Fransisco State University, University of Washington in Seattle, and Loyola in Chicago.

See a bunch of you stateside in less than a week or so!