Stateside

Alright guys, so I promised ages ago that I would post on getting back into the groove of things in the states. It's been a month, and basically a non-stop one. I spent a week in Jersey, drove down to Tupelo only to drive back up to Jersey four days later, and drove back to Tupelo after a week, stopping in Kentucky on the way down. Since then I've been moving into my new home and attending meetings regarding a scholarship I'm working towards.

The things that really caught my attention when I came back weren't really things I expected, though I guess that's to be expected, since I was aware of the other things that would be different. The first thing I noticed was how dark it got. The first night I was still up around 8 at night and I was surrounded by darkness. The night before the sun had set outside my window at 9:36 p.m. And when I woke up to see the sun starting to come up, I thought 'Great, it's 4 a.m.', but it was already 6. I'm still not quite used to the darkness. And yes, I hated it when it was still dark at 9 a.m. during the German winters, but the long summer days are something I could get used to.

The second thing was the food. It was really gross. And I mean that in the nicest way possible. We got take-out my first night back, and I ordered a tuna wrap, which came back smothered with mayonnaise. The next morning I had a couple bites of a really sugary cereal before deciding if it was going to be that sugary, I just needed a pop-tart. There wasn't much difference. And the milk tasted weird. My mom and sister and I went to Target to get a few things and on the way back we stopped at Wawa (it's a store... and an awesome one!) to get some lunch... I had to get a salad. I don't even eat salads. But I've had at least five in the four weeks that I've been home. It's the only thing that doesn't taste processed.
Granted, I have adjusted to the taste, etc. of everything, though milk still tastes a little strange.

The other thing that struck my attention happened as I was sitting on the couch one day and happened to look over at the window. The window had been opened, and on the bottom part of the window which is covered when closed there was a sticker which read: WARNING: Screen will not stop child from falling out window.    And I thought, "well... duh." which reminded me of how over-warning-labeled America is which then reminded me of a conversation I had with someone about a German treat that had been recalled in the states. It's a chocolate egg that's hollow that has a plastic egg inside with a little toy that you can put together inside the plastic egg. They're really cool, but apparently some kids with huge mouths and unobservant parents ate everything...including the plastic egg in the middle. *Insert LOOK here* America no longer sells these eggs, which is a shame because they're really cool.

One thing I knew I was going to miss that I absolutely do miss are German bakeries.

I also get amused sometimes when I go to the grocery store to buy something and think "Oh, this is the same price I paid for this in Germany... oh, wait... that was Euros." This usually happens with fruits and vegetables. Bread is definitely way more expensive in the states, though.

My last note will be about tipping at restaurants. In Germany, if you give someone a 10% tip, you're very generous. If Alydia and I went out to eat and the check was for 22.90, I'd give them 24 probably. Maybe 25. Tipping just isn't the thing it is here. Unfortunately for my last waiter, I had forgotten about that rule and given him just over a 10% tip (because I thought he was really nice). Oops!! But seriously, this 15-20% tip thing is ridiculous, especially given that the food is already expensive. My example above... I doubt Alydia and I have ever had a check that large at a restaurant in Germany. I will leave you a ridiculously large tip, miss waitress, but you'd better be nice!

Coming up: a number of things I miss about Germany, comments on Oxford, and the first week of school. Stay tuned.