Never say dye!

We don't have a TV so hadn't had an opportunity to see local newscasters until we spent the weekend at Expat #1's parents' last weekend. It was shocking (but nice) to see KRON's Ysabel Duron with her bright white hair. I have no complaints about women looking their age on TV!

Let's talk about English!

Our last stint in the US was back in '96-'98, and one big change we've both noticed since coming back is the influx of different language speakers. Of course Spanish has always been ubiquitous, and in San Francisco, some 20 years ago, we worked with native Mandarin and Tagalog speakers. Still, we were quite surprised on buses (again in SFO) a few summers ago on vacation, at how many people were speaking Russian. Talking to people in stores and coffee shops, we realized there were also plenty of Polish speakers now living in the US, too.

Another change that we've noticed is how Spanish speakers are moving further north. Growing up in the US in the '70s, Spanish was only used in the states bordering Mexico, and my family, raised on the very excellent New Mexican cuisine, was afraid to try Mexican food outside that region. However, a friend lives in southern Nebraska now, which is generally known for the good quality of its corn and not much else, but there's a very good Mexican restaurant in her small town with tamales that are authentic and yummy.

These changes mean we in the US need to constantly update how we think of ourselves and our nation. Though that may be a scary thought for some, I look at it as an opportunity to change and grow. Though I'm not exactly a fan of Madonna, her ability to redefine herself yet again has kept her going...let's hope that same flexibility keeps the US a great destination for visitors and immigrants alike.

p.s. Coffee maker arrived! Life is good! ;-))

Making coffee the old-fashioned way

We don't have a coffee maker. Long story short, we needed a Braun to fit the filters we already own...and that's not available anymore in the US (at stores anyway). So we've ordered one off of amazon.com, but it's not here yet. :-((

I told myself, "Hey, they didn't have coffee makers until the 20th century--you can do without!" But the first batch I poured most of it into the sink while trying to strain it through a paper towel (those darned grounds). The second batch I couldn't figure out how many scoops to put in...and it was detestably weak. The third, after I bought a strainer, was better, but the paper towel really slowed things down (paper towel inserted into strainer). Now I'm just using the strainer, and besides the hassle of trying to pour from a heavy, hot saucepan, is a vast improvement (especially when I get it strong enough).

I have always thought that the medical breakthroughs of the 20th century (in order of importance) are:
1 - Birth control
2 - Penecillin

But now I'm adding #3 - Coffee makers!! ;-))

Can't wait 'til our new one arrives. Now to find some cardamom to add to the grounds to make it really Gulf-style!

Being a student again

Well, we've settled in nicely, and pretty quickly--with some help and support from friends and family. And the other day I began my new "job"... as a student.

A student-teacher, that is. I've just begun a 15-week internship at a local public (charter) school, where I'm working with kids in both the 4th and 6th grades. Really interesting so far, and no signs of that letting up. The kids are really bright, articulate, generally very well-behaved and consistently engaged in class... wow, is this K-6 Heaven or what?!

Today I was impressed by many students' ability, and relative ease, in describing their science projects that they're currently working on. A few examples of their self-selected projects: powering a small light bulb with lemons; determining if a vertical wing (of a paper airplane) provides significant benefits to flight distance; tracking the migrations of a certain fish (off the coasts of Mexico and Japan), and trying to determine why some of them head south while others are happy to make the long journey west; ascertaining if there is a correlation between playing computer games and having superior eye-hand coordination. All very impressive, on the whole.

Which makes life both more interesting, and rewarding, for this particular student-teacher, as I inch closer to earning my K-6 credential and get the chance to become a full-fledged teacher of similarly bright kids.

Pantyhose and other dangers of life in the USA

Yikes! Had to go to temp agencies this morning to look for work (more on that later). And I haven't worn pantyhose in 10+ yrs. Why? I actually took some when we went to work in Oman, but quickly discovered that 100F+ temps and 70%+ humidity make for some very uncomfortable times if one is wearing nylons. Because the university is made up of many different small buildings (without air-conditioned tunnels, unfortunately) and I walked 8-10 times daily between my office building, different classrooms and the cafeteria (plus walking or biking to/from home, also on campus), it made a lot more sense to wear lots of loose flowing cotton! Hmmm...wonder if that's why the locals dress that way?! (See here for a picture taken in Salalah, Oman and a bit more about the traditional men's clothing--dishdasha, thawb, thobe--which is extremely sensible.)

Anyway, I got thru 2 interviews without the pantyhose falling down, or putting my toes thru the end! (Partly because I got a pedicure yesterday to ensure they last a bit longer).

The airlines are charging us for what?!

One of the things that's changed in the US since we've been abroad (a fairly recent, regrettable thing) is that airlines now charge for checked baggage. We had heard about that, in the news, but only now has it hit home, as we finally get the pleasure of forking over an extra 15 bucks for the first checked bag. (This is with US Airways, though it seems most airlines are comparable. At least this sort of nickel-and-diming hasn't yet hit international flights.) Just another way for airlines to earn money, I suppose. But why not simply include luggage costs in the actual ticket price (and impose even heftier penalties for those with extra, overweight or oversized bags)?

Hey, wait a minute... they already do that!

All this add-on charging reminds me of a comedy clip I saw online a year or so ago, in which passengers were cheerfully informed by the flight attendant that things like flotation devices and oxygen masks would of course be available for their safety and comfort... and that exact change would be greatly appreciated.

I remember also reading that this new policy among US carriers is likely to just encourage people to carry on as many bags as possible, stuffing full the overhead compartments and generally making the experience of boarding a plane that much more fun!

Is the US really more interesting than everywhere else?!

Sometimes, living overseas it's hard to believe that we're not the most important place in the universe!

Why? Well, we're in Italy now and the front page of Milan's evening newspaper (Corriere dela Serra) is about the US government's loan to car companies (Crisi dell'auto negli Usa: maxiprestito del governo = Auto Industry Crisis in US: Maximum loan from the government). But guess what? The front page of the BBC News website? You guessed it: Bush unveils $17.4bn car bail-out. Now part of this could be that the global economy really is global...and Europe is just as dependent on the US's car industry as the US is. But the cynic in me says "What? Nothing important enough happened in Italy or the UK to be top of the news page?"

And I also wonder if it's just easier to report about the US (or in many places, complain about the US) rather than report about what's happening at home. Distraction, anyone?

What do you think? Please comment below...