Archive for the ‘USA’ Category

US Trip Roundup

Saturday, December 8th, 2007

I finished off an email newsletter to our supporters yesterday. In it, I did a quick roundup of a few of my favourite moments from our trip to the US. I thought, since there are probably a fair few of you that probably haven’t signed up to our email newsletter (which you really should do!!!), that it might be nice to pop that little list up here.In retrospect, here are a few highlights from the trip:  (more…)

California Bound

Tuesday, November 6th, 2007

Maine is currently giving us a windy and rainy send off.  We got hit by Hurricane Noel’s left overs on Saturday night, but the weather today is way worse than what hit us then.The trip west tomorrow will be long.  I’m not looking forward to it.  The good news is that we’ll be making one of Virgin America’s first flights from JFK to LAX so I think that means we get free stuff, right?  Call me a nerd, but I’m excited to check out VA’s entertainment system.  We’ll be in California from tomorrow night until the end of the month.

Things that strike me as strange in America…

Saturday, November 3rd, 2007

We’re back in the US for my sister’s wedding and to visit family.  It’s been nearly 2 years since we were last back and everytime there are things that just strike me as strange or absurd.  Not bad, mind you.  I’m not passing judgement.  I just find them really weird.  Here’s a quick list:

  •  Since when is the cost of living in Brooklyn almost exactly the same as living in Sevilla?
  • Taking money out of the Spanish bank in the US is fun.  Euros = muchos dolares.  Nice.  Usually it’s the other way around.  Dolares = not very many Euros.
  • Variety of choice in US supermarkets.  Who really needs 100’s of breakfast cereals?  We seem to get by in Spain with about 15.  How do we do it?
  • 800 television channels?  Seriously?
  • People you don’t know talk to you.  Its kind of cool, but it freaked me out at first.  Folks in Spain will always say something about Sophia.  But a guy in line at the supermarket the other day just started talking to me about the weather.  That doesn’t really happen in Spain.
  • Analog mobile phones still work over here.  Hilarious.
  • MLS Soccer looks about as elegant as my high school soccer team.  Note to Fox Soccer Channel: Don’t put Spanish Primera League highlights in the same program with MLS highlights.  It doesn’t make American sports look very good.

We’re on the East Coast until the 7th of November.  Then we head to California for fun in the sun.Â