Impressions of the United States

We've been having a great time in the Atlanta area visiting with good friends and shuttling our kids around to see their much-missed buddies. Having been away for almost a year (for the most part), we couldn't help but be struck by certain things here on American soil:

* Micaela and James, immediately upon exiting our plane at the airport, sighed and said, "Ah, signs in English! It's so great!"

* Beginning our long drive in the Washington suburbs, we noticed how shiny, new and rectangular all the big office buildings were.

* At a McDonald's for breakfast the following mornings, the egg biscuit I ordered tasted like it had been rolled in salt (It very well may have been. You sell more orange juice that way).

* In the Atlanta area, the size of the cars was striking. In Germany, you have minivans (usually small ones) and SUVs (regular sized ones), but sedans are still the norm. In this area, it seemed like 90% of the cars were large minivans or absolutely humongous SUVs.

* Seeing the $4.00 gas price as the gas stations was new since we left, though we pay almost $9.00 a gallon for gas in Germany. It's less meaningful when signs say 1.53 Euros per liter.

* American kitchen sinks are huge! I've gotten quite used to my tiny little sink and I noticed the sinks in every house I visited.

* Why are there so many cars on the road at 10:30am on a weekday right around the neighborhood where we used to live?

* Germans do have cell phones, but I have yet to see a German walking through the grocery store, shouting into his/her cellphone or wireless headset.

* My meal at Applebee's was disappointingly over-salted, but my chicken sandwich from Chik-fil-A was just a good as I remember.

* We stayed with friends who are avid recyclers. Whatever does not get picked up by the recycling truck (such as cardboard) gets brought to a recycling center. Compared to what we recycle in Germany (where virtually all packaging is recyclable and by law you must recycle), it still seemed like we threw away a lot of stuff while we were visiting.

* The weather was really hot. In Germany in the summer, it'll be 85 degrees one day and 65 degrees a few days later.

* We really miss having a Target and Kohl's nearby. We miss the selection, convenience and great prices. We got all of our school clothes shopping done within a 4-mile round-trip drive. We also planned ahead and brought 2 empty suitcases.