Living in America

It has been a while since I posted. I guess I have been taking some time to adjust to living in the US of A again. It has been good but a little strange at times being back. After almost 4 years living in Poland, one kind of gets used to life there. There have been some elements of life in the states that are extremely different than in Poland.

For example, one of the biggest differences I think has been how friendly most people in the service industry are. When I went to the school to register Mattie for Kindergarten all of the women in the office were so nice and helpful. They were smiling and talking to me like we had known each other for years. In Poland, when you go to a place of business there is not a lot of "chit chat" going on. You go in, tell them what you need, have them tell you you are in the wrong place and you leave. You still don't know where you are supposed to be but you leave anyways because the person you were talking to has already disappeared into his or her office.

Another difference for me is the variety of restaurants available. I had not forgotten about all the good food I had been missing but I think that I forgot just how many places there are to eat. It is no wonder that families do not eat at home much anymore with so much good food just a block away. And no dishes to do! We have enjoyed our fair share of the bounty including White Castle, Arbys, Einstein Bagels, Cheesecake Factory, and, of course, Starbucks. It is fun but I can see how expensive and fattening this could get!

The last thing I will mention is the language. It is so strange hearing English everywhere. In the beginning when we would be in the store and I would hear someone speaking English I would automatically turn thinking that I knew them since they were speaking English. That is the case in Poland most of the time. If someone is speaking English you must know them. Not so here, obviously. Just yesterday, I had a slip up when we were ordering Chinese food in the food court. I was unable to understand the man behind the counter and quickly replied "Slucham?" which means "excuse me?". As soon as it came out of my mouth I realized what I had said. Such a strange feeling!

We are loving being back home. The best part obviously is being with family and friends again. We love the fact that we can go next door and borrow an egg or call Mimi (Michael's mom) and see what she is up to and hang out with her. The kids are really enjoying being with their new family and getting to know who they are in that respect. It is so fun to see. Needless to say, we are thrilled to be back and will enjoy every minute of it!