Right now, I am traveling Texas-ward on I-40 W. I am Austin bound, and how about this for getting a full dose of Texas: We’re spending the night in a town called Texarkana. On a road called North Cowhorn Creek Loop. (Does this mean there are 3 other ‘Cowhorn Creek Loops’?...). Well, Heather, Welcome to Texas. My appreciation for college majors such as turf management and agriculture are being born as we drive through Arkansas and Texas country. Mom’s driving my Explorer. Dad’s pulling the Uhaul behind Mom’s Mountainer. And I’m keeping Mom company. Well, kinda. I go in and out of writing, downloading pics, and totally passed out. Totally passed out due to a bug I’ve recently acquired, but more on that pity story later. No worries, before those spurts of sleep, I reset the Fleetwood Mac soundtrack on my ipod so mom has good company while I snooze J
So! It’s Friday. Which means there is quite some time gap between the time I got home and now. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday are a game of tug of war with my sleep cycle, packing, doctors appointments, lunches, and …getting sick. Getting sick was NOT part of the plan. It never is part of a Heather Hill plan. But, maybe it is for the best. Against my will I am forced to sleep. Thankfully, the bug hits full force after I have done most of the organizing and packing and helped with the major grunt work for furniture moving. My family is amazing in taking care of me. I can’t keep anything down and loose 4 pounds. I sleep on the couch and am quite happy waking up at 3 in the morning to the sound of my dog, Abby, snoring in her cage in the kitchen and my Dad ‘breathing heavily’ all the way in my parents room. If I move a muscle or even think about being thirsty, my mom somehow knows and is in the living room before I know it. I swear, her mom radar is unbelievably super-sensitive.
Before the bug, I did have a proper re-introduction with the United States. It kinda started when I got on the United Airlines flight bound for Chicago. It was starkly an American crew on board. The grooming, the attitude, the manners, and the accent all told me I was dealing with Americans. They weren’t impolite, but there is a difference between the American crew and the European and Chinese crews I’ve dealt with the last 5 weeks on a number of flights. I was kind of sad to be coming home in the first place, and this rude realization that Americans do have a distinct stigma to them did not help my mood. In fact, I would be slightly disappointed for the next 48 hours onward as I readjusted to the US. Don’t get me wrong, I was totally ready to see my family and dogs and to be ‘home’ again. But after traveling for the past 5 weeks and constantly seeing new places, cultures, food, and people, my senses are still extremely alert. Coming back to the States has made me keenly aware of areas in which our country is lacking. The three most notable areas being infrastructure, health, and energy efficiency. But, who wants to hear about this right now. Having a horrible feeling it'd feel like a rant, I'll list several impressions here and expand upon them when I'm in a better mood and/or have been less sensitized to the American way of life again. I was quite surprised at how easily I integrated back into Americana, but I shouldn't have expected 22 years of US living to trump a lifestyle I picked up in 5 weeks.
- Semi-trucks. If I were a foreign traveler to the US, I'd be AMAZED by the semi-trucks. There are so many and they are everywhere! This is our replacement for rail. Think how much more efficient goods transport would be if instead of having a driver for each container, we had one or two train conductors for 50-100 containers. Do the math...
- Food. There is so much prepackaged, processed food. At first, it might seem brilliant. But I remember the labor of loves that were the creation of meals in Europe and China. Cooking was part of your day over there. Here, it sometimes seems like an inconvenience that interrupts your daily affairs. I vow to change this. Food was already becoming increasingly more important to me, and I'm convinced it should be a priority.
- Paper napkins and AC. Both used in excess. In China, we paid for paper towels at restaurants (either directly or indirectly). This made us realize how precious they are. Something to be treasured and kept up with, we'd take them with us when we left the table. At lunch today at Moe's, I see a girl grab no less than 20 napkins out of the single dispense napkin holder. Thinking of her throwing about 15 of those away makes me cringe. The first night I come home from the airport, mom and I walk into our hotel room to a wave of cold air. The AC is kept on ALL the time and is running full blast when we get there. In Europe and China, the AC is turned on when you get home and is isolated to whichever room you're in. Bedroom AC is turned on at night before you go to bed and doors are kept shut to help contain cold air. What what a novel idea. Plus, this helps you acclamate to the new temp slowly and not go from extreme hot/cold.
- Obesity. This REALLY hit me tonight at Olive Garden. I swear, everyone my age or older was AT LEAST 30 - 200 pounds heavier than me. Some people I couldn't even put my arms around because their stomach diameter would be too large. It is gross. Gross. I'm sorry if you have a weight problem and I acknowledge some people can't help it. I have little tolerance for laziness and that is what comes to mind when I see these people. But, enough of these horrible images. Here is one of my favorites from the trip :)
Travelling internationally has been a Phenomenal experience. I had fantastic travel buddies along the way - shout-out to Celine Anger, Luke Li, and Lawrence Wong. Without you guys, my trip would not have been nearly as awesome and may not have even happened. You all opened up your families and friends and shared your homeland with me and for that I will be forever grateful and appreciative. This definitely had a positive impact on my travels and enriched my cultural experiences.
And thanks for everyone who has followed my blog while I've been traveling. You are absolutely the reason and people I write for. I know the over 1,000 views on my blog couldn't have all been my mom, so there are others out there hopefully enjoying the posts :) Moving forward, I want to continue blogging. There are many exciting things to come in the near future that I can't wait to share, including Austin, TX adventures and following my heart while refreshing my career ambitions. So, stayed tuned. More to come from Speedway Avenue in Austin! :)
Two Hugs,
Heather
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