First Impressions

So, we've lived in Asia for over four years.  My boys were 2 and Savannah was 4 when we moved there.  We came back to the States for a 3-week vacation about 2 years ago, but that's it.  Needless to say, things have changed since the last time I had a home here.  These are some of the fun/funny things we've noticed:

You can pause your TV.  Yes, you're watching a TV show, (not a DVD) and you can pause it to run and get a drink.  That's crazy!  I've heard of this TEVO thing where you can record your TV shows w/o a recorder (I've never done it), but I didn't know you could pause it.  Crazy!  

Peter was out riding his bike one day and came in to ask me for a towel.  When I asked what he needed a towel for he replied, "I was riding on the sidewalk and those things that are cleaning the bushes outside got my bike wet.  Sprinklers....I guess we don't see sprinklers in Asia! 

Laundry Detergent....Oh my!  In Asia, I don't buy my own laundry detergent.  My helper always did that for me.  So, after not buying detergent for over 4 years, I was overwhelmed.  They have liquid and powder, tons of scents, and lots of sizes!  I literally spent 20 minutes in laundry detergent isle, trying to decide what was the best value, what flavor I liked, and if I wanted energy saving detergent - what in the world?!  

Sidenote:  On our first morning in America, I woke up at 2am.  After laying in bed for an hour, I got up and was out the door by 3:30, on my way to super wal-mart!  By 6:45am the only people I had seen in the store were the stockers.  How strange for the grocery store to be open, but not full of people!  Then, I went to through the checkout, with my 199 items (I had 2 carts!), and they rejected my credit card.  I gave them another one, and it was rejected.  Then, I pulled out a check (I hadn't written a check in 4 years) and they rejected that too.  I borrowed my checker's cell phone to call my dad, but he couldn't come help me.  Finally, I called the number on the back of my credit card, and got it squared away.  I told my checker that if I had to walk away without my groceries (after shopping for 3+ hours) I was going to cry.  Thankfully, no tears were shed that morning!  

The sky is blue and clouds are lovely!  

Finally, I think the most surprising thing is how people drive!  They notice my kids!!  Parking lots and streets, are safe!  People driving cars stop way back to allow us to cross the street.  When my kids are riding their bikes on the sidewalk, drivers slow down to a crawl.  It's amazing!  I really don't think I'll ever get used to that!   

I'm sure I could go on and on....but I won't!  Maybe I'll write about a few more things we've discovered in another post.