Shockingly the house was pretty clean when I got home. Leaving two young adults (two of our children) alone in the house for 10 days one could expect to find "party central" when arriving home. Very proud of the kids that instead I found a nice clean home. Are they growing up? Maybe. Are they are little wiser? Definitely.
I got up and went shopping - no food in the house. Not the usual shopping trip but a shopping trip that seemed to be focused on what I will miss when the move is complete. I don't want to wallow in sadness but it is probably healthy to recognize what will be missed when we are in Norway.
When we were in Stavanger the hubby and I realized that the U.S. is an amazing place. We have more, more than most, more food, more clothes, more stuff, simply more of everything. One example is that the grocery stores are fairly small in Norway. Our real estate agent said that large grocery stores have only recently come into the area.
This morning I walked into the large "you can find everything" grocery store and loved it! I love that there is an entire aisle for potato chips and another for frozen vegetables. Do I need that much? No. But I love that they are waiting in the store for me just in case I feel the need to have 50 different types of potato chips. I can have them! I love that I can get instant gratification when I walk into the store.
The U.S. is a huge consumer. It is our global role. The world makes stuff and we buy it. We may be in debt but we fuel the world economy and we seem to be pretty good at doing that. We have so much of so many things it is amazing.
The hubby and I have the realization that given we have such easy access to so much it is amazing that American's aren't fatter than we are. I mean, we must have much more discipline and self control than we are credited with having. An example, a McDonald's burger is $16 US in Norway. We can get a burger for $1 each in the U.S. So basically we could eat 16 burgers for the same cost as a Norwegian eating one. So, if my logic is good, we could be 16 times the size of the average Norwegian. Yeah, I may have a problem with logic but you get the idea.
I am going to miss the huge grocery stores and wholesale box stores and the opportunity to buy large quantities of food and junk that I can live without but that I don't have to live without. I may become a more responsible member of the global community but I will certainly not be fulfilling my role as an American in the world economy. I'm sure that my lack of contribution will have minimal impact on the global economy but we'll have to wait and see the outcome. If the world economy takes a dive a few months after our move you and I will all know why....
Potato chip heaven!
Yes, I'll miss life in the U.S. but there are some things that are going to be amazing!
See: http://www.stavanger-web.com/touristinfo/swords_in_rock.htm
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