Home, Sweet Home

After living somewhere for eight months, you start to grow accustomed to things...and sometimes not (see previous blog on doggy poo pick up, or should I say the lack thereof)...and I think one of the things that people never think about is that it will be reverse-culture shock going back home and that you see your home more critically after being away. That being said, there is something really neat about how you just slip back into your life at home so easily, too.

I've been home for a week now and its amazing how I just kind of get back into the groove and once I've seen all the weird little things that have changed, like hearing the new bishop's name during the Eucharistic prayer, that construction is, annoyingly, blocking Lima Road right by the house, and that I don't recognize all the hairdressers at Great Clips I feel okay if not a bit shaken up that things have gone on and people live without me in Fort Wayne, IN. (Joking!) Possibly the weirdest shock is that my room is not exactly as I left it! My mom has invaded and made it her little studio...but then I remember that I do have my own place in downtown Nancy and maybe its better that its more my parents home than mine. I am glad, though, to see that some things, the things I most count on, never and hopefully won't ever change:

1. My family - they still love and care for me and take me in and feed me even though I continue to go off on long trips!! Absolutely the BEST part about coming home!!

2. Free Refills and giant portions - I documented the humungous portions that kind of shocked me when we went to go get cheeseburgers at Logan's Roadhouse on my first afternoon home so that my European friends can understand my complaints about small portions. I think I've shared EVERY meal I've ordered since I've been home and still brought home leftovers!

3. Starbucks' Vanilla Latte - need I say more. I believe that I've ordered a Starbucks almost every day since I've been home. Seriously. I mean I have to stock up for the next two months of Starbucks withdrawal.

4. Driving on the highway with the radio blaring and the windows down, hair blowing and sunglasses on. So typically American. Period.

5. My mom's cooking - when family came to visit she made three massive desserts of which we still have leftovers.

6. Cosmos' food = amazing. Twice visited by Mom and I, Cosmos' is and I think always be my favorite breakfast joint and that leads me to number seven,

7. Big breakfasts with all the fixins' Eggs, meat, pancakes, biscuits...etc, etc, etc...you name it. I love breakfast.

8. Big, clean and stocked restrooms. Enough said.

9. SALES!!! Mainly on clothes because let's face it I like to shop and I can buy a larger amount of clothes here in the States than I can in France, mainly because there are only sales twice a year!

10. Forever 21 - speaking of shopping, I missss my favorite clothing and accessories store when I'm gone. H&M is a good sub, but not the same.

So, there you go. Home, sweet home!

And now its back to France until the end of July when I head to Middlebury, Vermont to study for the summer at Middlebury College and after...well...who knows....

Crossing the Atlantic

Currently, I'm sitting in the screened in porch at home
Let me say that again....
a - t h - o - m - e ...
Just to paint the picture for you...
short sleeve shirt, with the beginnings of a good base tan from running the last three days in hot weather and an amazing breeze blowing through my hair...
Sound perfect?
It is.Amazing as it is to be home, I was wondering whether it would actually happen. I booked my ticket awhile ago to come home and without realizing it, I discovered this about three days before leaving that I had a "layover" in Amsterdam for 12 hours. Starting out at 9:15 am in Nancy I took the train to Strasbourg, waiting an hour there, taking the bus for 2 and a half hours to Frankfurt International Airport and then waited there for about three hours until my one hour flight took off to Amsterdam. Arriving at 7:10 pm, I had until 8 am the next day to fly to Detroit, go through customs and then arrive in Fort Wayne at 1 pm US time and 7 pm according to my body. Although, I would have rather not "slept" in the Amsterdam airport, it was pretty amazing to see Amsterdam for a few hours. It has a very eclectic and international feel to it. I heard French, Spanish, English and Dutch of course, while walking through the streets and all the restaurants were international places. People from all walks of life crowded the skinny and crooked streets and even more bikes were piled along the side of the numerous canals that snake through the city. Unfortunately, nothing much was open by the time I got downtown except what Amsterdam is known for, the red light district, was in full action. I wasn't fully sure where I was going because although I had a map, it was in Dutch (??) so I kept heading in the general direction of the red highlighted and longest street on the map and when I saw the massive crowd of people walking along a street where all the bridges over the canal had red lights hanging along them, I thought I'd probably hit it. As I took this picture, a rather strong waft of marijuana hit me...hmmmm...the lady at the tourist office assured me that I was safe by myself so I went ahead, rather intrigued actually. Basically, all the tourists walked along, like me, stunned and mouths open. All the buildings had their large windows in red and blue neon lights and girls just posed, talked on cell phones, chatted to one another or danced in front of the windows with just their bra and panties on.
I really wanted to take a picture but felt like I didn't want to contribute to the exposure...
WOW...its really all I could think....

When I got to Detroit and heard English all around me and saw my fellow jean, t-shirt and tennis shoe clad Americans I was struck by the fact that just nine hours and a flight over the ocean could change the view so drastically.

Love and hugs,
e