Home Again Culture Shock.

Okey Dokey, now.

When you have been gone from home for 6 weeks, there are some adjustments  upon return.

Personal Safety:  We spent roughly 3 weeks in Spain.  The Spaniards are DILIGENT about following all the traffic laws.  Possibly a lingering after effect of 40 years of Francisco Franco’s authoritarian dictatorship?  Gee, I’ll bet that was jolly.  Anyway ..... personal safety.  Spanish drivers stop for pedestrians.  Always. No exceptions.  Almost to the point of being ridiculous.  It is easy to lose one’s finely tuned Ecuadorian instinct for pedestrian self preservation.  (13 words in that sentence ...... and lots of syllables .... and awkward to boot).  The drivers in Spain lulled us into a false sense of safety. Anyway, must again get used to looking in ALL directions (twice) before crossing the street.  

“Hey honey, where is the ________ kept?”:  We moved into the house 8 weeks before we left for our trip.  During much of that 8 weeks, things were getting moved around until most stuff finally found it’s home base.  Then we left for 6 weeks.  Now I can’t find anything.  Forgotten where many things eventually ended up. This is frustrating and amusing. and a great way to kill time.

Eating:  ‘Eating’ once again means food prep.  Bad enough to eat almost all meals in restaurants in Spain and Morocco.  But to finish it up with two weeks of eating on the cruise!  We arrived home early Monday eve. Between no food in the house and having to prepared (and CLEAN UP), We didn’t eat here for about 24 hours. But that is okay because we were carrying around extra reserves from the cruise.

Our Comfy Bed:  Our bed here is gloriously comfy.  The same cannot be said for some of the beds we were in on the little trip.

Cleaning Up After Ourselves:  It is easy to get used to daily maid service ....... not making the bed ....... dropping towels on the bathroom floor ....... eating, getting up and walking away.  I left  a couple towels on the bathroom floor Monday evening and Brennie has yet to pick them up and replace with clean ones.  I wonder how long she will hold out.

Clean Clothes EVERY Day:  We travelled light through Spain and Morocco.  One piece of carry on luggage each.  So we got used to wearing the same thing for multiple days.  This was easy enough for me, as I tend to wear the same thing a lot.  (Some people think that I wear the same white shirt every day here in Cuenca.  Not true ...... I have 7 or 8 identical white shirts.  I like white shirts and it is such an easy decision.)  However Brennie is back onto the complicated dilemma  of choosing what to wear. Girls are different than guys.  Duh.

Cell Phones:  Gotta admit, it was pretty sweet not having a cell phone for 6 weeks.

Sidewalks:  Back to watching where you step.  Anybody that lives here understands this.

Looking Like Tourists:  Unfortunately, the only place I don’t look like a tourist is Kansas.

Life is sweet,

Clarke