Contradiction

There is a bottle on my shelf with some pills of Malarone in it.  These symbolize the count down until I get to go home.  The bottle is half full, however, the journey is just begun.  Here is one of the many contradictions I have encountered on this journey.

A half filled jar of pills but a completely full hourglass until I get home.  Why couldn't I have gotten a smaller bottle or the pill be bigger, why is there so much empty space in this bottle?  The space doesn't symbolize a pill that used to be there but is now gone because the day is done; it symbolizes inefficiency, wastefulness.  One of these pills could have been smashed because of the long trip it would have had to make from one end of the jar to the other.  Then I would be missing a pill.  That damn bottle made my carry-on bag a bit bulky.

I haven't even seen a mosquito, yet.  I have already ran and walked 10 to 20 miles in this country, ridden probably 100 miles and been exposed approximately 24 hours.  I guess that is one more contradiction, taking medicine for a sickness I don't have and might never be exposed to--I probably will exposed to it eventually. 

I have never seen whiter whites and more vibrant colors than what some people are wearing; electricity is not a commodity and there aren't many washing machines or dryers around here.  People are husky and seem well-fed; the per capita income is about 200 or 250, depending on where you look.  Food can be purchased from street vendors for a buck or two; there are several Lebanese owned and operated restuarants that charge $4 for a Heineken, $12 for a burger, $12 for a Greek salad and $24 for locally caught Grilled Tuna. Those are American dollars, by the way.

Nice beach not far from where I stay.  Can't go swimming, though, unsanitary.  Just one more contradiction.

I am sure these are just the first of many.  There are others that I have seen but they escape me at the moment.  I imagine once I get to see how things are beyond the personal everyday matters, more contradictions will be noted.  By then it will be time to talk about something different.