Some things I noticed

On the plane headed home!

We made it back to Switzerland in one piece and are very happy to be back! Of course we love being in Texas and seeing all of our family and friends, but five weeks is a really long time to be away from home. Baby K was good on our flights home; she slept about four hours on the long flight and then was extremely tired, but playful on our second flight. The Tobster is having a hard time getting used to being manhandled by Baby K and has been a little snappy. We're going to have to work on that.

It's funny, being in Texas for five weeks, I noticed some things about the US that would have never even crossed my mind had we never lived abroad. Some are funny, some make me seem old, but here it goes...

• I found myself often sitting in the right lane at red lights and not turning right on red. Finally one time, BK asked me if I was going straight or something. I then realized it hadn't even crossed my mind to turn right on red. You can't turn right on red in Switzerland and I guess I've gotten used to that.
• There is SO MUCH STUFF in the US. Target is specifically very overwhelming. I mean, seriously, there are about a million different choices of cereal. It's so overboard.
• The service in restaurants in the US, in general, is awesome. It's a dining experience, instead of them making you feel like you're lucky to be sitting at the table and they don't really care if you're happy with what you got, or if you ever come back.
• Driving in the US is a bit chaotic. In Switzerland it is illegal to pass on the right, and I like this rule. In Texas it feels like people are all over the place on the highway.
• Food is so ridiculously cheap in the US (as is everything). In Switzerland it is rare that BK and I can even get "fast food" for less than about $30. In the US the three of us can eat for around $15. Crazy.
• BK has an insatiable appetite for Mexican food, specifically Tex-Mex. I seriously think he must have eaten it about 10 times while he was there for 15 days. On the other hand, I didn't have it before he came, and tried not to have it after he left. I'm good for another six months, and even then it will not be my first stop when we get back.
• There is a lot of really bad music on the radio. Ick. Country, pop, alternative; it all runs together and it's all typically bad. The song "Stressed Out" specifically grated on me. It was on four radio stations at one time. Is it really that good?

One last thing. Baby K's English vocabulary exploded while we were in the US. I'm always thinking about her picking up French and how that is going, but I often fail to think about the fact that BK and I are really her only regular exposure to English. In the US we were constantly around about 10 people at any given time, and she gained so many more words and phrases. She talked a lot before, but now it's even more. She's a busy little thing.

This week it's back to normal for us- BK to work, me to French class and Baby K to creche. We have a busy spring coming up and I'm sure I'll have much to report!