Some differences (besides the obvious) that I've noticed between here and the US-
-Electricity here is pretty spotty
-streets are at best mostly paved
-everything here is filthy from dirt and garbage littered
-no toilet paper
-water pipes often leak and often are not underground
-waste water runs along the sides of the roads
-computers are all at least 5 years old
-there are no tibetan beggars or leppers
-people drive on the left
-there are no American cars here, almost all are indian or japanese
-coca-cola and lays are the biggest American brands here
-Indian women and Tibetan women still wear traditional dress, while men all wear western style clothing
-gender relations are different- couples rarely show affection in public, boys hold hands and hug each other but girls never touch each other.
-momos should be the next food trend in america
-there is a dearth of hindi TV, films and music so much so that it drowns out most american media
-There are a lot of Israeli tourists here
-local people don't eat out and when they do they eat only local food - none go to the sushi or italian restaurant
-buildings' life expectancies here are about 5 years, so everything is in a constant state of disrepair

It's interesting the ways in which you start counting time when you don't look at a calendar. The number of malaria pills or vitamins left, watching the daily high and low temperatures drop a couple degrees each day for chicago on the news, segmenting the trip into sections - India, Nepal/Tibet, ISP. We went to Norbulingka today, which is a center in exile for many Tibetan cultural crafts as a way to preserve it. They had beautiful japanese-inspired gardens and master craftsmen whom we met. field trips are great.