A Week of Reverse Culture Shock

Overall it's been a good first week back. The worst part has been not being able to find a decent car to buy. You have to be extra careful buying a car in these parts due to all the flooding in May in the Nashville area.  We'd appreciate your prayers that God would provide one quickly for us and within our price range. In the meantime, my parents have been great at letting us borrow their cars when we need them.

I thought I'd share some reverse culture shock happenings. More than likely it will be our Aberdeen friends that will most appreciate these.

-I was at the grocery store and was going to pay for my items, so took out my credit card and held it like I was going to insert it in the "chip and pin" slot. I was slightly flustered to realize it had no chip and I no longer live in the land of "chip and pin" but in the land of swipe-your-card-then-sign-your-name.

-I have had a hard time remembering that when writing my birthdate the month comes first instead of the day. This kind of shocked me since it took ages for me to get this one (in regards to my birthdate) into my head in Aberdeen. Mark's birthday, for some reason, has really thrown me for a loop.

-Writing the date in general. I knew this was going to be a problem since within the first 6 months or so in Aberdeen I had embraced this one rather wholeheartedly both at work and in my personal life.

-Mark and I were at Wal-Mart. He was in line while I went to the, well, the "bathroom" (since it is no longer as acceptable to call it the "toilet" or "loo").  When I finished he said to me, "I started to bag the stuff." I had a good laugh. Though, since there is no conveyer-belt, he said he didn't get any further than opening the bag on the turntable thing when the checkout clerk obviously started to pack the groceries.

-Turning right on red. Mark and I had a discussion trying to remember if this was okay.

-The emptiness of the grocery stores. I really can't get over this one. Maybe it is just the area my parents live in, or maybe American grocery stores just aren't as crazy busy (during most times) as Scottish ones since people don't shop every stinkin' day.

-Of course I've already called "cell" phones "mobile" phones. This will be hard to break, at least this first month, I think.

-You wave at your neighbors when you pass in your car. Right. I remember this one was new to me when I moved from Ohio to NC. I am no longer a hard-nosed city northerner so I must not act like one.

-It actually being hot when the sun is out. And in the evenings. Don't get me wrong, I'm lovin' it! My brother noted (when he visited this weekend) that he hadn't heard me complain about the 90+ temps we've had almost the entire week we've been back. I said, "No, I haven't. And you won't hear me. At least not for a very long time."

-The laundry, when placed outside to dry on a drying rack, (yes, this habit is harder to break. It's one I kind of like now, so will still line dry some) dries in about .4 seconds.