culture shock and libraries

after three weeks of doing little bits of grocery shopping at the local corner store, and walking to the regular grocery store for a bag of necessities, last wednesday i finally ventured into the real grocery store at a regular time of the day (530pm) to do a good sized food shop. i mean, i had to take a cart with me and everything! generally when at all possible, i do without a cart. seriously, who has energy to push that thing around for just a few items. and here, the aisles are so narrow, that two carts can not pass in opposite directions, so it's just easier to load my arms or fill my reusable shopping bags and carry them as i shop.

back to the story. grocery store. evening. obstinate grocery cart that does not go straight. (usa'ers: please thank Jesus every day that your grocery carts go in a straight line. you will never know what joy it is until you are wrestling your grocery cart down narrow aisles packed full of rushing people, stock boys filling the shelves, pallets of dry goods and screaming children everywhere. just fyi.)

okay, story. can we all saw CULTURE SHOCK!?!?!?! yeah. shock. shockingly in shock. this was the biggest culture shock i think that i have had for a while. generally i just float right back into "how-it-is" but somehow the grocery store...i was not prepared.

probably because i went to the grocery store with my mom every time she went. cause it's fun. crazily air-conditioned. full of wonderful food. fun to be with my mom. calming.

things i love about america

line etiquette

drive-thru

bank

restaurant

pharmacy

liquor store

wait...WHAT???

you heard me right. DRIVE THRU LIQUOR STORE. oh, and open 24 HRS !!!

back to the list at hand:

mail boxes

beautiful lovely cozy homey mail boxes

deciduous trees

i must say that there is nothing quite as lovely as the leaves changing colors in the fall

green green oh so green grass

you have NO idea what you're living without until...you're living without it.

wide streets

wide parking spaces
wide grocery store aisles

line etiquette

more than one entrance to parking lots

oh, did i mention line etiquette

there was something vastly soothing that for an entire eight weeks i did not have to guard my place in line by standing practically on top of the person in front of me, for fear that someone would see that six inch gap between the front of my shirt and the back of his and interpret that as an opportunity to "line jump" and get closer to the front.

what else do i love?

oh libraries. libraries. libraries. public libraries.

someone should write a song about the joy that a library truly does give.

i could spend days in the library and not come out. well, except for when the "lets pick up chicks who read" guys hit on you. sigh. true tis true.

scene: abigail with her arms stacked with books and cds, searching for a dvd to borrow. tall african man comes and begins to make small talk. and ACTION!

first of all, help a girl out here! you are ten feet taller than me. craning my neck back to see you and holding a tower of books in my arms equals girl is going to topple over!

secondly, "you're beautiful. i want to take you out." somehow in my mind the logic seems faulty here. if by saying that i am beautiful he expects me to ascent to his spending money on me to get me to allow him to spend time with me, a woman whom he just laid eyes upon for the first time three minutes ago. hello!

the truth be told, though, i was flattered. and he was beautiful. enough said.

being different is really a good thing

while i was recently in the states, i had a few experiences in which i found myself to be different than at least 95% of the people around me.

the dear husband of a woman i know passed away after a long and hard battle with cancer. loving Jesus every step of the way, he passed away with a minimal amount of pain and suffering. this was truly a miracle. after arriving at the church for the wake before the funeral- which was going to be an all day event- i thought very little of the women in white standing around the sanctuary. that is until my mother pointed out that it was good they had enough nurses on hand.

NURSES? whatever for? the man already passed away.

apparently this is for those who may be so overcome by grief and crying that they feel faint or even lose consciousness during the funeral. point taken. i have never been to a funeral where the grieving has even come close to hysteria that people would begin to faint. totally different point of reference for these particular funeral proceedings as opposed to all other funerals that i had witnessed in my life.

who's to say what is better anyway? bottling the grief up inside and it only exploding in bitterness and sickness? hysteria on the point of fainting, but at least touching the depth of grief felt? seven days set aside for a concerted effort to grieve? the outward grieving must be healthier than keeping it in. definitely!

last monday, labor day, after whirlwind of events and changes and upheaval, my parents moved yet again. this is not a shocking event, as they have moved approximately every two-three years the entire 31 years they have been married. my mom hates moving. i was actually around and able to pack up the apartment and help them get settled into the new place. 40 minutes from where they have lived the last 25 years. a different county. P.G. county. if that doesn't mean anything to you, fine. but, really. from montgomery county to PG county. that's not just a move. that's like an entire paradigm shift...at least in some ways.

my entire life my family has always been the minority where we have lived. except for the first neighborhood we lived in while in MD, that is. we were there for two years. i was little. didn't make too much of an impression, obviously. so, we are used to living with all sorts of different neighbors. montgomery county is HUGELY racially diverse.

pg county is not. my parents are still very clearly in the minority. when i went to the walmart (which, by the way, has a nail salon, subway and a branch of the "urban trust" bank located inside) i was suddenly struck, after 45 minutes of wandering around, that there was no one else, of the hundreds of people filling the walmart at 8pm, who looked like me. no blonde hair. no blue eyes. you get the picture. "wow!" i thought. "this is so COOL!" i thought. "i LOVE this!!!"

every store i walked into, people turned to greet me. everywhere i walked, people said hello. even at stop lights, the people in the cars next to me talked, said hi, and good naturedly laughed as i danced and sang my heart out.

and no, it wasn't only men! for those of you inclined to think that it was because i'm a blonde young woman in the midst of loads of other non-blonde people.

it was incredible.

at the gas station.

walmart.

shoppers food warehouse.

the stoplight.

the other stoplight.

target.

old navy.

safeway.

i lived in a snobby county for most of my life, and didn't realize that life could truly be more friendly.

inspiring.