Observations on U.S. life from an ex-expatriot :-)

I've been back in the U.S. for a week -- 2 days in NC, 1 day (12 hours!) driving to Baltimore, a weekend in Philly, and several days in Baltimore since. Being back is very strange -- I haven't been away long enough that much has actually changed, but yet things have. I feel like I've entered a time warp, cryogenically frozen for four months. No, too dramatic. I feel like someone switched the channel on me during a commercial break and forgot to switch it back, for just long enough that I have to stare at my original surroundings in confusion for a minute or two until I finally understand again how all of the characters and subplots are fitting together. Not a big shock, just a double take and a readjustment period til I'm all settled in again.

A few things I've noticed more than usual

• Sitting in traffic S-U-C-K-S! Why is there no decent train system here?? :-)
• Grabbing food on the run -- I've missed you much
• Weather always seems better when I'm not there! Just as Prague was getting gorgeous I had to leave; just as I arrive in NC and Baltimore, the beautiful weather hides behind cold breezes and lots of clouds. :-/ Poo.
• Just sitting in lab exhausts me as much here as it did there, but the daydream-inducing view out the window there was better.
• I love driving through the mountains and cities full of green (that would be NC, not Baltimore, for those who don't know...)
• Americans speak really loudly to each other on the streets -- especially as tourists, it seems, but even here at home
• Gone for four months, but the main headlines never see to change: Iraq, Natalee Holloway, and the sniper trials.

I miss Prague, but am glad to be home, despite its quirks. :-)