Culture Shocking...

Dear Josh (and friends in Madagascar),
I've noticed a few things here in Manitoba that seem strange/different to me coming back:

more than not, little kids on our street have these mini cars/vehicles that they can drive just like a real car on the road. It's a bit mind boggling. Judah continues to prefer sticks and stones as his toys of choice.

people seem to have a lot more stuff, despite the size of their houses. :-)

where in Madagascar i'd estimate about 2$ per each toilettries item, here i've noticed i need to peg them at at least $5-10 per piece... !

there are summer sales here! (ACK! :) but for some reason they start at the beginning of summer!

the food, especially from restaurants, makes my tummy ache.

the bulk items are GINORMOUS!! the peanut-butter jar, for instance, is about 10 times the size of Madagascar PB.

the sun seems more tolerable here, that is, i can sit in the sun longer here than in Africa. I guess it's due to how far north we are.

the late night sun continues to be strange and bed-time-routine-upsetting.

they've got street signs! :-) and it's very easy to navigate to places i dont know.

garage sales are cheaper places to buy clothes, for the most part, than the African outdoor markets, as i recall.

milk stays good for days and days.

the grocery carts at Superstore are about the size of a small european car. and people FILL them up!

using the visa here is so fast i hardly have time to blink before i have to sign. no more holding up the line if i want to pay that way. In fact, i dont ever have to carry cash, it seems... but when i do, the change is actually worth something, so i have to find a place to keep it. :-(

not paying for medical visits!

customer service!!

the difference in worship style from VVC and Kileleshwa is somewhat startling to return to. I reckon it'll take a while to readjust to that. in many ways it's less of a tear-jerking occassion for me than in Madagascar.

how much one can do online without leaving one's home (ordering photos, finding phone numbers, checking hours of operation, etc).

how distracting everything is as we drive to/through the city and walk through the shops and whatnot. I have to be sure i'm holding Judah's hand when we're walking, otherwise his neck craning and absorbed looking causes him to trip and fall. I have to be careful when driving for this same reason! :-)

that there are traffic rules and streetlights. :-( And the streets are so smooth!

however, places take long to get to not because of terrible roads or insane traffic, but because of the long distances between places.

when it rains a LOT, like it did yesterday and last night, there is nobody out on the streets buying and selling.