Lauren’s Beans

So we’re back.  We got back right before Christmas and have now celebrated two holidays. First impression once off the plane: Everything is ridiculously wide! Cars, roads, stores, tables and food portions…… everything! There is a general air of expansiveness in every built object in sight. For a couple of days it was kind of disorienting but, I think it will feel normal again later even if it doesn’t become more appreciated.  I think we’ve delayed reverse culture shock because of the holidays.  I’m so wrapped up in doing the holiday thing that I don’t think it has really set in that we aren’t going back afterward.  I’m waiting for that one to set in.  I’ll write again in about two weeks and probably will be exploding with …. oh my gosh I had forgotten that it was like this! how can we live with this stuff.  Right now we’re in San Diego.  So far we’ve made our tour through Huntsville, AL and Atlanta, GA…..by the way I don’t think I’m ever going to move to Atlanta.  Of all the cities we’ve been in again so far it seems the most likely to explode/implode once gas prices go up.  We flew here to San Diego on Southwest and I think so far it has been one of the most American experiences since we’ve been back. At the beginning of the flight the stewardess’ tossed the peanuts down the aisle telling everyone to pick one up if they could as they went skittering back toward the tail.  The black woman beside me was gently cursing them for unkindness as she missed peanut bag after peanut bag and the kids in the back laughed and at that moment I’m thinking … only in the USofA.  It’s not bad, it’s entertaining and stunts like that explain why the US provides 3/4 of the entertainment for the rest of the world.  We like to laugh at ourselves and really so do they! Later in the flight the same thing happened to all the stuff in my purse….also thouroughly entertaining.  Crawling down the aisle gathering my stuff out from under peoples feet while trying  my hardest to ignore the stewardess who was asking everyone to get in their seats over the intercom was definitely fodder for the travel episode of a sitcom.  Ok so end of randomized thought for the moment….