Through My Eyes…Returning to the USA (Part Two)

This is a continuation from yesterday’s post on my thoughts upon returning to the States. I don’t intend for these observations (both yesterday’s and today’s) to, in any way, be derogatory or insulting. They are simply my thoughts, and I sincerely hope that they may provide others either with a common voice or with a factual account of differences between cultures. So here goes 🙂

1. Grass
I walked across the grass today. And it was wonderful. Not only was the fact that I was allowed to, and even encouraged to walk across the grass different from the mentality in most countries, the simple existence of lush patches of green grass is pretty unique to the USA. Yes, they probably use a lot of water on the upkeep of that grass, especially in the summer, but I really enjoy it. Sometimes, it’s the little things in life that make the biggest difference.

2. Dryers
After a summer of hanging my clothes out to dry, a clothes dryer is a welcome treat. You know how people say that you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone? This would probably be one of those things. Not only do your clothes dry a whole lot more quickly, you don’t have to worry about them blowing away or getting covered by dust while they’re drying!

3. AC (or air co as my European friends say)
My apartment in the Caucasus over the summer had AC, but I usually kept the temperature at about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The past few days, I’ve taken to bringing a jacket to my meetings, because, I kid you not, the rooms feel like they are around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s summer for goodness’ sake, we don’t need to freeze now!

4. Water
Tap water is safe to drink! No filtering, boiling, disinfecting required. Also, no need to buy bottles of drinking water, unless you really want to. Also, you don’t have to worry at all about running water, because it’s a given. After 3 weeks without city water, and using a finicky water pump, having pretty much an unlimited supply of hot and cold water is such a blessing.

That’s it for today! What are some things you’ve noticed since coming back to the States, if you’ve traveled recently?

Through My Eyes…Returning to the USA (Part One)

Happy Monday everyone! As I’m writing this I’m back in the States, battling a pretty severe case of jetlag. But as I’ve been outside of the States for 3 months, coming back has been a transition. Here’s some of my thoughts, and if you’ve had a similar experience, maybe they’ll help you~~

1. Customs/Immigration
I’ve had to go through immigration/customs, I think 11 times this summer. And let me tell you, that has never been one of my favorite parts of travelling. I have had countless visa problems over the years, that I always get nervous when I step up to that counter. Thankfully this summer I didn’t have any visa problems. I did have some weird looks and long lines overseas, but I was really shocked that one of the officers in the States was the rudest to me. I understand that they have a lot of people coming through the terminals and that they need to keep order, but that doesn’t justify barking at someone just because they don’t know where to go. I imagine that my nerves were a little worn by the time I did get to the States, as I had travelled 27 hours, but still. If an American feels more comfortable and welcomed in a country other than her own, I think that’s a problem. (But the encounter with the officer did teach me more things, probably to be discussed in another post).

2. Lines
If you’ve been anywhere in Asia (and probably other places as well), you’ve most likely experienced the jostling that comes with standing in lines. Not only do the lines quickly become a huge mass of people, but if you don’t fit for your position, you quickly end up at the back of the line. This summer, I brushed up on my staying-in-line techniques and used them a lot 🙂 but once I came back to the States, the amount of personal space that you get in lines as well as the non-competitiveness was really nice.

3. Sound…or the lack thereof
While large cities have noise all the time, in America, if you live in a town or outside of the city limits, it actually gets quiet at night! There’s no dogs barking, no calls to prayer, no buses driving full speed down your dirt road.

Since I’m really tired, thanks to the lovely jetlag, that’s all for tonight, but more thoughts on transition will probably be coming soon!