People use umbrellas here. They drive their car everywhere; from one end of the parking lot to the other. They drink plastic, bottled water. And they don't recycle the plastic. They talk with a bit of an accent, walk at a slower pace and eat grits with their eggs.
They don't have coffee shops. They drink Folgers, and McCafe and Dunkin Donuts. Like seriously, the google results for "coffee shop" include 7-elleven and Dunkin Donuts. I am guessing that people don't go to coffee shops to meet up with friends, or to use the wi-fi or to study. I am guessing that coffee culture really is a North West vibe and that if I want to fit in I should probably start to drink soda pop.
People here say OR-E-GUN, as if it is three separate syllables. One person thought that the New England snow storm was affecting our home, and most people ask if we moved to Florida to escape Oregon's snow.
Grocery stores use plastic bags. We get strange looks, deep sighs and questions when we offer our own reusable bags. One kind cashier asked if we would like our food wrapped in a plastic bag before being placed in our own cloth bags. We kindly declined his offer for the double bag.
It was sunny and 64 degrees. We were wearing T-shirts and sandals. On the Floridians, we saw winter parkas, turtlenecks, down coats, wool hats, thick gloves and boots.
The fruit here falls off trees. Grapefruit and oranges line the roads. The fruit in the store is very expensive, and imported from Guatemala. I am rather confused.
The roads here are nine lanes thick, and you can't turn left. U-turns are not just allowed, they are expected to ever turn left. I read the entire drivers manual, no where does it actually say that you can U-Turn, it only says to not do so if there is a sign telling you not to. Cell phone usage is still allowed for drivers, though texting is a great fine. But the most appalling: motorcyclists are not required to wear helmets. They zoom in an out of lanes, with no helmet. It gets me every time.
Everywhere we go, we find things that feel different from home. We see new brands, new stores, new advertisements. We listen to new radio stations, visit a new library, and travel down foreign roads. There are exotic animals everywhere, large dropping mossy oaks, and sunshine.
It is exciting still, to open my eyes everyday and see what the world has to offer. To look upon things fresh and new. To experience and breathe in the unfamiliar. This is the stuff that brings life, the wind that unhinges our desires to stay grounded to the familiar. The amount of newness is overwhelming, and having but one other person to share it with is lonely, but I think for right now, it is good.
