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Things you would never think of being cultural really are.

For instance, regular stair height. Here, stairs are not the same height or angle. Often, it’s the top step that is 4 inches highter than the others. Sometimes, it’s the bottom step that's not like the others, and I come close to falling in a crumpled heap as I dismount.

Another thing is the type of paint. In Kazakhstan, everyone uses a type of paint I like to call "chalk." Yes, it comes right off the walls. When we volunteers first arrived, we had white backs all the time, from leaning against the walls without thinking about it. Now, I still have it on my bag and a shoulder or two all the time, because I'm just plain clumsy.

Finally, the concept of a doorway is subtly different. Here, the floor isn't continuous, so the doorways have several varieties of raised threshholds, from "loud bump" to "bleeding toes."

I am particularly fit for such an environment, being light and graceful.