Culture Shock

Many have asked to see pics of the new house and they are upcoming I promise. I will have to delay them for the time being because I have traveled to Utah for a visit. I will be going back to Cancun at the end of the month, and then I post pictures.

I was surprised by this trip, I didn't know it was coming. My family, mostly my mother, engineered the tickets and called me on a Sunday and told me I was leaving on a Wednesday. It was an exciting surprise.

I have been surprised at how I have felt this time. I have been back to the states several times since this Mexican adventure started, but this time has been distinct. I think it is because we have truly settled in Mexico and I have accepted Cancun as my home for now. I have started doing real daily life in Mexico. Before I was completely in survival mode and all I could think about was when we would come home. Now for almost a year I have done very "normal" life in Mexico. That adjustment in my perspective has resulted in a very different experience in the states this time.

Last night I went to the Cheesecake factory and walking in the door literally took my breath away. It was so ornate inside and i just stared feeling like I was entering into a world that was so very far away from my own reality. The food was to die for, by the way, and i had a great time, but I felt like a little girl in a magical land I had never visited before. Which is silly, when you think about it, because I most certainly have visited such places for the majority of my life, but I feel changed forever.

I went to the grocery store and on every isle and in every section there was some delicacy that i wanted to take home with me. Asparagus in the produce section, (only once have I bought decent asparagus in Cancun) and Utah corn. There is no better corn in all the world than Utah corn. There was just so many things, cereals, and treats and prices. Things are SO cheap here. Did I mention the TREATS, krispy kremes doughnut holes, and hostess cupcakes, and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, and all manner of delightful fatty goodness that is simply not part of the grocery inventory in Mexico. sure they have all kinds of imitation crap that is not worth the peso or the calories. It is just not the same. This is truly the land of plenty, and then plenty more again.

There are small things about daily life that are still amazing to me. Like turning on the tap water in the kitchen and taking a drink. I think that almost every time I have gone to the bath room here, I wipe and then pull the paper out to throw it in some waste basket and marvel that I can flush it. The roads are so wide and so smooth. The city is so organized and clean. There are free libraries and affordable zoos, and county fairs, and EVERYBODY drives according to traffic laws. It is just so orderly, and clean, and LUSH. This is the land of luxury, convenience and ease. Oh so easy.

I mean I always knew exactly how it is to live here. I am from here, but I just forgot, and it feels so surreal to remember.