Culture Shock

Not sure if we are experiencing "culture shock" or not but coming back to the West, things do seem very different. Here's a few;

- In Cameroon, our boys are always being played with and picked up by everyone... just a normal thing, everyone is friendly and wants to talk with them. At the Heathrow airport there was a guy laying on a chair, Seth was playing near him and stood up and just rested his elbow on his leg). The guy gave him the dirtiest look (in Cameroon this would have been totally acceptable). Along the same lines, we were at the pool the other day and all of a sudden Seth just jumped on this guy's back and he got another dirty look... in Cameroon when we go to a pool, everyone plays together.

-When we go to a shop in Cameroon, the boys always just go walk around wherever they want too, and we'll just find them when we're done (even Jude get's taken from me by a shop worker). There is no fear of strangers or someone taking them or something... here I have to watch them ALL the time, they think it is so strange they have to stay close.

- Drinking water straight from the tap, so bizarre!

- Boys not being completely filthy by the end of the day.

- Things are so cheap! I know Americans are complaining but gas is almost half price here. Looking at prices of cars in the newspaper! So cheap compared to Cameroon. Ham, cheese, milk, toys, diapers, formula, at least half price here if not more.

- Going out is so easy, there are toilets everywhere (no public toilets in Cameroon). There are water fountains everywhere (have to bring bottles with us wherever we go in Afirca). The roads are so smooth, traveling is so incredibly easy.

-Jude is still adjusting, he hates being strapped into anything... in Cameroon, most of the time he was on my lap when we travel as we always have people in the car with us (only when we went out of the town he went into the car seat). So he hates the whole car seat thing. We never had a high chair, he can't stand being buckled into one, and every time I change his diaper at diaper changing table he screams, he much prefers to be changed in the back seat of a car bouncing along the road :). But he is starting to get used to it now.

Anyway... I'm sure I'm sure I'll come up with a few more before I time in the States is over :D

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