My Americanness

"America is so vast that almost everything said about it is likely to be true, and the opposite is probably equally true." -James T. Farrell

Living abroad has been a relatively easy transition, and most days I blend right in to Swiss life without really thinking about it.  Except for the language, things are pretty easy here and I just go with the flow.  I've realized there are some cultural values that differ from mine, but the lifestyle is good, and I've got my own little expat group at my fingertips when I need a good solid dose of 'home'.

Sometimes, however, I feel like a big ol' American stranger in a strange land. These are the days when I wish for simple things such as:

• Time to stand/sit somewhere in the open air without a person lighting a cigarette next to me.
• The ability to make a stranger smile, for no reason, other than just because it feels good.
• Phrases like "excuse me" or "sorry" to be used openly by people who bump into me.
• Having a random how-ya-doin conversation about the weather with the grocery cashier.
• Putting my makeup on/doing my hair in transit, without getting 'the look'.
• Being able to buy fitted clothes for my curvy figure.
• Going out to eat for less than $10, with good table service.
• Dollar stores. The bin at Target or Ben Franklin.
• Burritos and guacamole at the taco truck.
• People making music on the streets, guitar cases open for change.
• Humongous drip coffees served by a cheerful barista.
• People choosing to exit the plane row by row, rather than bum-rushing the aisle.
• Somebody, anybody, to laugh hysterically in public.
• Fellow jaywalkers, traffic disobeyers, and general rabble-rousers. Cause sometimes it feels good to be bad.

This place is unique, and I could write a whole laundry list of the things I adore about it too.  I could elaborate on the serious side of comparing cultures, but these are the types of issues that really pop in my head on a regular basis!  In comparing with friends round the world, it's funny to discover how much of a North American disposition I carry with me wherever I go.  Who knew?