Saturday, 28 January 2012

Mailing Address

Timothy Gardner
Ul. Kalyaeva #167
Krasnodar, Russia
350047

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The kids and I have been home six weeks now, and we are still enthralled by the little things. For one, the miracle of having everything around us happen in our own language still seems...well, like a miracle. The fact that someone bags my groceries at the supermarket may never lose its freshness for me. At first my daughter and I were trying to do it all ourselves—playing that favorite European supermarket game "Race the Cashier"—until it dawned on us that the baggers don't really want us to help. These smiling people want us to stand out of the way and simply watch as they deal efficiently with our cold, our produce, our health & beauty. They even chat with us, and wave us off at the end with the cheery advice to “have a nice day.” All for free. It's like having my own personal grocery store servants.

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It’s surprising how much a person misses out on when she’s out of her own country and culture for a few years. When we landed in New York, I expected to feel instantly at home. After all, it's my own country, right?  Instead, surrounded by all those English-speakers, I was intimidated (and frankly it takes a lot to intimidate me.) Americans, I discovered, were loud and energetic and friendly to people they didn't know; they wore their hair and clothing with a sloppy indifference that is the prerogative only of those from very rich countries; they talked knowledgably about “American Idol,” and seemed to understand how DVR works. All the airplane movies were reruns to them.

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We landed in America on Sunday night—well, 80% of our family did anyway; Tim is still in Russia closing up last-minute things there. If any of you women are ever considering moving around the world with 3 children, 9 50-lb suitcases, plus 4 enormous plastic bins of belongings, and no husband to help, let me encourage you to try it soon. It’s so much more than a journey: it’s an Extreme Sport.

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