Home Again

We arrived home on Monday, June 15. When we had planned for our trip, I knew there was going to be a return. I figured it was going to be a hard one, but it has not been. At least I did not feel a lot of culture shock, at least not as much as when I had lived in Wales. Once back it was already easy to remember where things were in Cedar Rapids, I admit it was a little weird getting back into a car and driving everywhere. While in France I didn't really have a need for a car and walking was just fine with me. The one shocking thing I suppose was right when we got off the plane our bags had not arrived from Minnesota, so we had to wait for them. We waited for them at a Chinese restaurant. I had not had Chinese since we had lived in France, in France I was a little fearful of what sort of things they would serve at such a restaurant so I did not even try one. We had been to this U.S. restaurant before so I should have been mildly used to what kind of service they would have. Ordering was fine, but once we got our food I had not even taken a bite and they asked how it was. I felt a little insulted, even though I am not a native French woman. In France they don't ask you, they allow you to enjoy and savor what they have offered you. Here it was like "Take a bite quick!!! We need to sit other people." In France you pretty much could sit in a restaurant for as long as you want. They did not expect you to finish quickly. That was one of the things I liked about France. Why? Well, it gave me time to think about what I was eating, but it also gave me time to write and relax. Americans really don't know how to relax all that much, it is rush or be run over. But I also noticed it allowed Ben and I to actaully have a conversation while we ate. We were not good at conversing at the table at home, but in France it was easy to because you had time to talk. Comparisons, comparisons, those are really the only things that really rocked my world when we came back. Otherwise it has felt as if we have been gone and have come back right where we have left off. It has been fine settling in for the long run in our new house, because it has been long time coming. It has also been nice speaking English again and having conversations with anyone. Despite the differences, France was a good place to go and it would be a treasure to visit it again.