...a lot of

...facial tissue.  It takes the place of napkins in small diners, and paper towels in some restrooms.  Everyone has a box of tissue on their desk, and it is community property.  No need to ask permission to take one, as my students back home used to do.

...keys. Every door of my apartment has several keys dangling from the knob. (Why do I need to lock the bathroom from the outside?)  I have a key to the main entrance, and three keys to my front door.  (I gave one to my upstairs neighbor, just in case.) Even the refrigerator came with a key. 

...plastic page protectors.  Every document that I receive or produce at school goes into a page protector.  Everything my students turn in is in a page protector.

...hair loss.  My hair is falling out at an alarming rate here.  Whether due to the desalinated water, or stress, or both, I am not sure. It's stressing me out.

...white cars.  Oh, there's an occasional red or blue car on the road, but 90% of the cars here are white. I drove into AD last weekend and called my friend Jo to let her know I was in the parking lot.  "I'm in a white car," I said.  Oh, wait--so is everyone else!

...Toyota trucks.  It must be a rite of passage to buy boys a small truck on their 13th birthday.  At some point they graduate to a larger truck, then to a huge Landcruiser when they have a family.  Toyota is the make of choice, that's for sure. (And they drive them fast--really fast.)

...sand.  I have a 45 minute commute to school so have lots of time to enjoy the scenery.  There are some hills in Liwa that are beautiful in the early morning light.  I haven't stopped to take pictures because I know that my little camera would never quite capture it.

...water.  I was awakened the other night by the sound of water gushing in my bathroom.  It was coming from the ceiling, so there was nothing I could do but close the door and go back to bed.  Evidently the hose to my hot water heater (which is directly above my tub and directly below my neighbor's upstairs) jiggled loose. It is fixed now.

...chocolate.  There is chocolate here from all over the world.  I have no problem with that.