what is different here and there

There is more to our Illinois trip and I will publish that later. In the meantime, I will talk about all the little differences I noticed.


I'll start with cultureshock. There wasn't much either way, but when I got to the US, it was really hard for me to think of floors in the American sense. Having the ground floor considered as zero makes sense to me. Back here in Holland, the only thing I noticed is this. Dan and I have a sort of agreement that whoever drives gets to choose what is broadcast on the car stereo. I was driving the other day and remembered this and for a split second I thought, "Why aren't I listening to NPR?"


I noticed a lot of seeming new-to-me things back in the US.


When we got to the Philadelphia airport, I couldn't believe how cold the AC was. There is some airconditioning here, especially in public buildings. But it never gets *that* cold.


Also, while waiting at the airport on the curb, all the cars seemed to be glisteningly clean. I also noticed that the US seems to have a lot more Japanese cars than we see here, particularly Toyota and Infiniti. One might expect to return to the US from Europe and notice how big the cars seem. I didn't feel that way, but in Holland, there is a good variety of car sizes. This is as opposed to France, where every car is no bigger than a compact.


On the subject of autos, I couldn't believe how the gas stations have evolved! Maybe Arizona just hasn't caught up, but in Illinois, there was live TV and radio broadcast at the pump. Given the fuel issues the US has been facing, I noticed little stickers on the pumps advising of the limits of gas that could be purchased. Finally, I saw an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper in a minivan window that said "Hyper Miler." My sister explained this phenomenon to me - basically, people alter their method of driving to create greater fuel efficiency standards for their cars.


At the Village Fresh Market that opened up in Carpentersville, I noticed that the shopping carts finally have what European carts have had for years. A coin slot! The carts are chained together and to release one, you must put in a coin. To get your coin out, you must return the cart. Here, it costs 50 eurocents to get the cart out of the corral. I think it's generally 1 euro in France. There, it was a quarter. There were no stray carts anywhere to be found in the parking lot, so even a quarter is enough to incentivize people to put the cart back. Although this method was only limited to this grocery store, hopefully it will catch on.


To buy certain cold remedies, I had to pick up a card and present it to the pharmacist. This is in accordance with state regulations regarding the sale of products that contain pseudoephedrine. I also noticed many kids had toy guns, which I have seen only once in use here (as a gift from a pancake house) and excluding water guns.


Finally, while I was in the US, Randy Pausch passed away. I had never heard of him until then, but his story was really amazing. Pausch was diagnosed with incurable, terminal pancreatic cancer. When they leave academia, professors often give a "last lecture" and invite friends and family to attend. His inspirational last lecture became a YouTube sensation and he went on to write a book based on the lecture. He said that his hope with the book was "[an attempt] to put myself in a bottle that will one day wash up on the beach for my children." He became one of ABC's three person's of the year and one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world.