Culture Shock

I feel like I’ve been gone for an eternity. So long, in fact, that I feel like a guest in my own home.

Nothing in this once-so-familiar place looks the same. NOTHING. All the rooms are freshly decorated, some repainted, newly arranged. The forks look bizarre. Foreign. The plates are huge and the wine glasses look like crystal I’ve never set eyes on before in my life. Cleaning up the kitchen surprised me; all the appliances are so sleek, clean, modern. The inside of the dishwasher shines. Since when do kitchen appliances shine? Weird.

Even the family dog looks like something completely new. Her features are so sharp and I swear she shrunk. I can fit her whole face in my hand. Obviously this is because I’m so used to my giant and have not seen Cloey since May. But I fed them both last night and swore I was going crazy – over exhausted from the trip maybe. The coquettes – called dry dog food here – were miniscule. Even the canned dog food was bizarre – itty bitty slices of meat. I burst out laughing. I just couldn’t help it… this is weird.

It was weirder going shopping today. I walked through the aisles formulating the questions I needed answered in French, forgetting that the employees here speak English. You get the point. It’s difficult for me to adjust back here, which is odd considering this is home. This should be the place I slide so easily back into. Honestly, it was easier for me to adjust to France than its been to adjust back to here…