Surprises in America
- Self-flushing toilets. They surprise me everytime. I didn't even realize that Brazil didn't have them until the first time I used the bathroom in the Dallas airport on my way back to Hawaii. So surprised. And they haven't stopped surprising me yet.
- Hot water coming out of the sink faucet. What's a water heater again? You mean I can choose the temperature of the water I want to wash my hands with? That's weird.
- Beverages are HUGE here. I guess I got used to the small size of drinks in Brazil and I'm amazed at the size of cups for all things: coffee, soda, tea, water...it doesn't matter what it is, the cup will be huge!
- I want to give everyone I see a kiss on both cheeks. It's ridiculous. Even my parents. I was so looking forward to all the hugs and real, warm embraces that I didn't realize how much it'd become second nature to kiss people's cheeks.
- I miss speaking Portuguese so much! It's only been a few days and already I'm missing the language so much!
- I don't automatically dislike talking to strangers anymore. I've gotten used to talking to people I don't know at all, and now I actually do it without thinking about it. It's starting to come naturally, which is crazy, especially if you remember my previous dislike for strangers. I mean, I talked to a random guy at Radioshack the other day and it was totally comfortable. Before Brazil I would have been super awkward and all flustered to talk to a random person. Not anymore.
So, those are just a few things that have stood out to me the last five days. I hope you can understand the shock that happens in my head each time. There really isn't any way to describe these things except for culture shock.
