14 days, 6 hours, 48 minutes and 11 seconds until I see my family, but hey who's counting? In all honestly...I truly believe that as the day draw nearer..I get more and more excited. Talking to friends and family on the computer makes me want to pull them from the screen and give them a huge hug. I think though being back in the states will be a little of a culture shock after getting accustomed to life here. Here are 10 things that I'm going to need to get reused to
1. There is such a thing as cold snowy weather- After having 4 months straight of sun and t-shirt weather... I'm sure it will be a shock to be donning the winter coat once more, but I am excited to have a white christmas. 2 weeks of snow is perfect to get sledding, skiing and snowballs fights in and then return to the tropical weather.
2. I will be considered normal- Perhaps the tannest Hillsdale resident...but still I I will lose my celebrity status as "americana" "rubia" and "gringa because everyone will look just like me. It will be strange walking down the streets without hearing "Dios mio, you are boot-i-ful...o hola rubia... I feel like I will constantly be looking around, but it will be nice to be part of the background again.
3. English will be the only language- It will be strange to not hear Spanish on the streets anymore . I will be able to understand 100% of what people at stores, on the street and at restaurants are saying and they won't be able to switch languages to talk about that clumsy American.....but I know I will miss being able to use my Spanish and I'm sure I will accidently try to ask strangers questions in Spanish
4. There will be lots of cars- After living in a world of motos for four months...seeing a plethora of cars sounds outrageous. It will be strange not seeing motos lining the streets or zipping in and out of traffic.
5. I can drink water from the faucet- This will definitely be hard to get used to. To think that if I want to I can stick my head under the faucet and take a big drink sounds outlandish after buying water from the colmado a couple times a week and pumping it into water bottles.
6. American money-I know this seems strange...but I found a $20 dollar bill that I hid in a book back from August...and I just stared at it for a while and thought how weird it looked. I have been handling Dominican pesos so long that American money looks ridiculous to me. Also Dominican pesos are worth a lot less. It will seem strange to go from spending $1,000 Dominican pesos at the supermercado to spending something like $25 dollars. What a big difference!
7. I will not have to light the stove- It seems such a ridiculous notion that to turn on the stove all I will have to do is push a button. I don't think I will feel quite as accomplished fixing supper in America without using a flame to light the stove...where's the thrill in that?
8. Laundry- Laundry machines!? What are those? I don't think I'll remember how to use a dryer after hanging my clothes on the line for the past four months
9. No more waterfalls, mountains or palm trees-I have gotten accustomed to seeing the mountains lining the outskirts of Jarabacoa that it will be strange to see the corn fields and evergreen trees of Hillsdale. Not that Hillsdale doesn't have its own comforting beauty...but it doesn't quite compare.
10. Talking to my friends and family without a computer screen between us- This is the greatest Christmas gift I could've asked for. I will wager that I will cry when I see my family again because they have supported me so much here and they are home to me.
2. I will be considered normal- Perhaps the tannest Hillsdale resident...but still I I will lose my celebrity status as "americana" "rubia" and "gringa because everyone will look just like me. It will be strange walking down the streets without hearing "Dios mio, you are boot-i-ful...o hola rubia... I feel like I will constantly be looking around, but it will be nice to be part of the background again.
3. English will be the only language- It will be strange to not hear Spanish on the streets anymore . I will be able to understand 100% of what people at stores, on the street and at restaurants are saying and they won't be able to switch languages to talk about that clumsy American.....but I know I will miss being able to use my Spanish and I'm sure I will accidently try to ask strangers questions in Spanish
4. There will be lots of cars- After living in a world of motos for four months...seeing a plethora of cars sounds outrageous. It will be strange not seeing motos lining the streets or zipping in and out of traffic.
5. I can drink water from the faucet- This will definitely be hard to get used to. To think that if I want to I can stick my head under the faucet and take a big drink sounds outlandish after buying water from the colmado a couple times a week and pumping it into water bottles.
6. American money-I know this seems strange...but I found a $20 dollar bill that I hid in a book back from August...and I just stared at it for a while and thought how weird it looked. I have been handling Dominican pesos so long that American money looks ridiculous to me. Also Dominican pesos are worth a lot less. It will seem strange to go from spending $1,000 Dominican pesos at the supermercado to spending something like $25 dollars. What a big difference!
7. I will not have to light the stove- It seems such a ridiculous notion that to turn on the stove all I will have to do is push a button. I don't think I will feel quite as accomplished fixing supper in America without using a flame to light the stove...where's the thrill in that?
8. Laundry- Laundry machines!? What are those? I don't think I'll remember how to use a dryer after hanging my clothes on the line for the past four months
9. No more waterfalls, mountains or palm trees-I have gotten accustomed to seeing the mountains lining the outskirts of Jarabacoa that it will be strange to see the corn fields and evergreen trees of Hillsdale. Not that Hillsdale doesn't have its own comforting beauty...but it doesn't quite compare.
10. Talking to my friends and family without a computer screen between us- This is the greatest Christmas gift I could've asked for. I will wager that I will cry when I see my family again because they have supported me so much here and they are home to me.
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