I Used to be a Strange Here Too

I just finished reading this book by Bill Bryson called In a Sunburned Country. It was about the author's travels in Australia. He has a pretty good sense of humor and manages to find the funny aspects in even the most mundane of activities and places. He made me want to go to Australia like tomorrow. It seems like I know Australia just a little bit better- because before I read the book I knew virtually nothing. Ha. There's this other book he has that I want to read next called I'm a Stranger Here Myself. Its basically about coming back to the states after being away for 20 years. He moved to England when he was around the same age as I will be when I move to Australia. He came back to the states with an English wife as a middle aged man and settles in New England. New Hampshire maybe. Some quaint New England town. I read a page here and there when I went to Borders and he talks about about how upon his return he discovered that there was such a thing as microwavable pancakes and 24-hour hotlines for questions, comment and complaints about floss.

I would have loved to have read that book before moving to New England- Boston as a matter of fact. I wish someone had told me that Northeastern really ISN'T a good school and that college students here define "rolling out of bed and coming to class". I wish I had known that words were going to be getting shorter as the weeks went by. Without even realizing it Psychology had become Psych, Political Science had become Poli-Sci and Irish Literature had become Lit. Even ethnic labels had changed. Orientals are Asians, Blacks are African-Americans and Hispanics are Latinos. There are words like pocket book and bubbler and r's are constantly being added where they have never existed and they are ignored where they have always been. "Leaf peeping" is something you do in the fall when all of the trees are on the verge of death. You have to tip people for doing what they should have been doing in the first place. Taxi driver charge a fare that's calculated by a meter and then you're expected to tip them for taking you where you asked them? Isn't that what they're SUPPOSED to do? You have to tip bartenders for removing the bottle cap from your beer and for taking the time to serve you a weak drinks?

These past two years I've spent in Boston have been my first two years living in America since THIRD GRADE. I lived in Miami for 2 years, but that doesn't count because it's one of the few places where you can do everything and not speak a word of English. You can even open a business and not speak english there. So no, Miami is not considered the "real" America. I can't say I've had the same comical outlook as Mr. Bill Bryson had upon his return (because I haven't, I really haven't), but I can look back and laugh about how horribly I handled moving back to America.

I can't say I've had a WICKED good time, is all I can say. (wicked?)