Ferns and Turtles and Soccer (oops, football) - oh my

The Top 10 things I've learned in 3 weeks:

1)  I know it's football everywhere but in the U.S. I'm slightly insulted when others say, "Oh. It's soccer to you".  Hey... I can adapt, people... it's just a vocabulary thing, right?

2)  There are resurrection ferns in the vegetable department at WalMart! People eat those?! Oops... I missed that little "Product of the United States" tag. Ummm..


3)  Turtles walk across my backyard. Are they coming from or going to the river? Either way, I must keep the dog otherwise occupied. (There are bullfrogs out there, but we will never speak of these again.)

4)  Canadian geese don't faze my dog. They squawk, they fly, they run. Snow cares not.

5)  Dogs can get laryngitis. You don't want to know how I know this... She barks; I laugh.

6)  Canadians are friendly, although my jury is tainted thanks to Rogers Communications.

7)  I'll never complain about the price of anything in the States again. Ever.

8)  The same recipes I've made for decades taste different here. (And, no, it's not the cook.)

9)  Skechers will not change your body, regardless of what Kim Kardasian says. They will, however, cause you to trip more easily.

10) Breaking the habit of saying, "in the States..." is harder than I thought it would be.

Slow and Steady but why SO slow?

The mailer we received today said "lightning fast internet speeds" and offered us 3 Mbps - another gentle reminder that we're "not in Kansas anymore" - and we've adjusted to that. We are living in another country, albeit in close proximity to our own. My new OCC-Canada associate, Ben, said, "if you pass through, visiting, you're not likely to see the difference", and he's right.

We all flit from place to place on vacation but rarely "see" the every day life of people. I think that's why our family presses in to tour guides to ask the real questions. Islam, our guide/now friend, in Egypt taught us not only about the history of his country but also gave us so much insight to the lives of 20-somethings there. We bonded - something we need to do wherever we go or live.

Isn't that the whole point of traveling and life? We need to get close to people. What are we afraid of, and why are we slow about it? Rick Steves thinks everyone is out to pick our pocket; I think I'd rather pick their brains and their hearts. Are you ready, my friends? Let's get to know each other.

That's What They Think...

"Oh, you're from where it's nice" said the workman as he looked at my car's Virginia plates. I found myself saying, "it's been beautiful here" to which he responded. "just wait".

"We don't have 'free' health care; in fact, it's not "health care" at all - unless you're not sick. Americans don't 'get' that..." said our neighbor who was recently treated for his cancer, in Michigan, after the system here told him they could see him in 18 months. I was struck, as he pressed the point, that people in the U.S. are naive about how socialized medicine actually works.

"Want to keep your job? Buy locally" read the NAFTA-inspired bumper sticker on the car in front of me. The optimistic patriot in me thought, "oh, that's nice... I believe in buying locally" before I realized the sticker was almost threatening in its tone. Ouch.

Here's what I think, and you know how I love politics... Americans live under the freest government on the planet and yet we find plenty to complain about, don't we? If you've ever read The Light and the Glory you know we, as a nation, were predestined to be a light to the world. What an honor.

I feel privileged to be an American. It's not just the creature comforts that make me miss the U.S. All countries have a sense of national pride, and they should. But God (don't you love that phrase in Scripture?) predestined me to live in the home of the free and the land of the brave. I don't need a holiday to remind of that.

God plants each one of us exactly where He wants us - regardless of nationality. Where I come from is part of who I am, but where I'm going is part of who He is.