My neightbor loves Sudoku

I was talking with some Volunteers the other day and we were discussing the main thing we missed from America. Naturally I said food. And can you blame me? When your diets consits of rice, to or couscous with sauce and you revel in the days you get beans or ragu, and all you ever see at the market is tomatoes, onions and a seemingly endless supply of cabbage, who wouldn't dream of the unncessary variety of foods you can eat whever you want in America?

But my collegues are smarter than me and said two things that I felt to be very true. One said that he missed the accessibility of things in America. Everything is easy to get a hold of. Whether it's looking something up on the internet, or picking up the phone and getting something delivered to your house, or buying things on the internet and having them at your house two days later or thinking about anything and getting it the same day or just a few hours later. Getting the answer to your question in seconds instead of waiting for days until you get the internet or find someon who knows the answer.
The other said she missed third spaces. This one really hit home with me. Here there are no third spaces, it's either work or home, there's no safe space in between where you can sit in peace and quiet and do whatever you want. No parks, no coffee shops, no bookstores, no nothing. And even if you do happen to find yourself alone at a restaurant, you only need to wait 5 minutes before some man comes over and asks you million questions, hits on you, and then won't leave. Or you just sit there but notice that every single person that passes stares at you until you say hello or smile at them, then they continue on their way. There are no free spaces here where you can be anonymous and yourself, here it's work or home or you are always 'working' and watching your behavoir, language and dress in order to be seen as respectable in the community you live. It is sometimes exhausting.