Watch the Walk

My almost-warm toes Some days I forget about socks. No, I don't mean that I forget to wear socks, although that's the result of me forgetting about socks. I just forget that the uncomfortable feeling in my feet is them turning to blocks of ice. And I forget that socks exist for the purpose of warming said blocks of ice. I forget about the existence of wearing socks as an everyday sort of thing (unless for some strange reason I'm putting on tennis shoes). Yet I'm willing to bet that a lot of you also forget about socks. You forget their existence, even though you're wearing them day-in and day-out. Because socks are normal. They're not normal for me. But that's okay, because there are a lot of things that are normal for me which I haven't yet experienced in everyday America. Like hopping in a taxi with a bunch of random strangers. Or being stared at because of my skin color. Or having people start conversations with me just to practice their English. Or r...

Saying goodbyes at the airport As most of you have figured out by now, I'm home in the US for a few months. I haven't been in North America since 2013. Do you remember 2013? That was the year of "What does the Fox say?" So it's been awhile. And although America hasn't changed a whole lot, it still feels different to be experiencing it again. Let me just list a few of the "normal" things which seem strange to me: -- Vehicles consistently have the driver on the left side: there's no guessing game of "which side is the driver on in this car?" Nope. Just hop in and go. -- Fridges are huge: and you can open them and stare at the contents, knowing that the consistent power supply will bring them down to temperature quickly. -- Evergreen trees: yes, I live in the Evergreen State, and there's a surprising lack of palm trees and banana plants here. -- English everywhere: I keep swiveling to stare at people when I hear them speaking English....