Olivia has a little Dora the Explorer watch that we got for her for a stocking stuffer this past Christmas. Today she asked me to get it for her because time is important as she told me. So I gave it to her and then about a half hour later she said, Mommy we are wasting our time. And I said what do you mean? Why are we wasting our time? ANd she said because that is what my watch says mommy. Look It says we are wasting our time. (It doesn't say anythign just some numbers but I think that is pretty funny). Don't you just love how little kids pick up on everything, including all our silly adult expressions?!

Hello. Culture shock. Hello old friend. Hello America. Hello Boston. Hello Massachusetts.

 

SO I went shopping at the Shaws in Porter Square to get a gallon of milk. In the past when we lived in Seattle and when we were living in Germany, we always tried to buy organic milk hormone-free (they are starting to question if the added hormones in milk are okay for kids...in europe, they refuse to sell it. PERIOD.). Well here is news: THERE IS NO WAY I AM GOING TO BUY MILK FOR $8.20 A GALLON! I had to settle for the non-organic but still hormone-free for $4.00 and ouch that hurts too! Geez, do you think we might be in a recession? Do you think inflation is happening? I wonder!

 

Okay and so I am living in the city right now. Hopefully we can afford a house with a school district that is okay not failing and falling apart. It is looking pretty bad out there. The schools here are falling apart because most of the school districts get their revenue from income taxes based on-yes you have guessed it--home tax revenue. Well, since the housing market is not doing so great....yes that is right, now it is affecting schools. Schools are having to cut budgets even more. In three of the places where we can afford to buy a house and where it appeared that the school districts were decent, they are going to lay off teachers and make serious budget cuts. I feel like curling up into a ball.  I have been searching in a wide radius around Boston to find a place we can afford, that has the MBTA line in it or close enough to it,  that has a home that looks okay, that is not hours away from my family and a town with a decent school district (this last one is obviously one of the most important factors!). It is getting harder and harder to find this. I am not convinced we will. We may have to just go with a town and cross our fingers that the school and town for that matter (police, fire department, roads etc.) will not go belly-up. The Southshore looks good but it is pretty far from my family so we have been staying away from there. But maybe I have to re-evaluate our standards again. Maybe we can squeeze into a smaller house, deal with ripping off wood-panneling, scraping lead-infested paint from pealing window-sills, ripping out all the stained rugs, having ceilings that are one inch from my husband's head, having 5 feet of yard space, metal chaine-linked fences with scary dogs... God help me.

 

I miss my German solidly-made doors, windows, floors....I miss the prices of really good and good-for-you food. I miss it all. I miss walking the cobblestoned streets, the little Kita kids songs (I can't get Olivia into preschool anywhere right now becaue there are waiting lists a mile long!). Oh boy and do I miss the euro...being paid in euros! So yes, reverse culture shock has knocked on my door again. I am happy to be back around friends and family but sometimes I want to curl up in a ball because I feel like I do not belong anywhere. Where oh where do I belong? I have traveled the world, lived in foreign places, and now I am "home" again and I am just not sure what that means. I know one thing: I am tired of the city life. I am tired of overpriced ridiculousness. I am tired of walking to the playground and walking by the 3 guys who go through everyone's trash for bottles, the lady who dropped her purse and had needles fall out, and the people who really are talking to themselves (sorry, I know they can't help it but it still makes me nervous!).

 

Oh and here is another reason I want to move out of the city. I was at the playground down the street and there was a gaggle of 3-year-old girls all shouting and dancing to the tune of happy birthday so-and-so. I forgot to add that they were all dressed in these crazy beautiful expensive long dresses and really nice suede flower boots. Each girl looked like her mommy was trying to outdo the other mommies by dressing their girl one step up. I myself would die to have those clothes and these kids are like three years old wearing 200 dollar or more outfits. THe last time I saw little girls wearing clothes liek that to a playground was France and well that is France so I guess it is expected. But here? I mean how can you play in a dress like that? Apparently they were heading off to a sushi restaurant to celebrate a 3-year-old's birthday and one mom said to her little girl, Come on so and so, don't you want to go to the party and have sushi? The little girl responded appropriately. No! I don't want sushi! I don't want to eat sushit! (she said it and I am not sure she realized what she said but it WAS funny). I tried so hard not to laugh but could not stiffle my laugh. If looks could kill...oh boy. And I think I have problems getting my kids to eat their peas and carrots. OH boy. I might just have to be banned from that playground or not, because I really don't care that that mommy and a few others shot daggers from their eyes. I think it is a bit ridiculous. Maybe it is just me but WOW! That is all I can say now. WOW! I am just shocked. Shocked. Laughing, crying hysterically, scrunching my belly shocked.

 

(Oh and I just realized something...I think that this mom that was trying to get her daughter to go to the party to eat sushi- she was the one the other day who did the sniff test. YOu know. Not to be crude but I guess that is what it felt like. She came up to me and said hi, you are new here. Do you live in the area? Yes. I said. I live over by the hospital. Oh. Nothnig more. She just looked at my kids, looked at me, looked at my clothes, and awkwardness ensued. I just blew it off. Okay. Whatever. I guess I didn't pass the test? Or maybe it was nothing. That is great. Love that about New England. There is what is said and then there is what is not said. The full message cannot be understood unless you catch what was not said. Love it. Love the games we all play. I am in no mood to play games right now. No mood. I miss that about Germany too! There is not a lot of subtlety there...you know exactly what someone means. Here? Not so much...yah have a nice day (oh you mean you were being sarcasitic?). OH boy. Oi!)