A Little Taste of Home

I'm not sure if this should make me more or less homesick, but just in the two cities we've been to so far, there are countless reminders of life back in the states. Here are just a few examples...

5. American food chains or american-themed restaurants -- It's hard to go too far without running into a Burger King or McDonalds. No, we didn't eat at these, but we did have lunch at a Starbucks (though it was in the Louvre... and overpriced). If it's not a recognizable chain, then it's a place named something like Cafe Americain. I also had a "hot dog" from a crepe stand on the Champs-Elysees (yes, I know that's wrong, but don't worry, I've had my share of crepes as well). It's actually been surprising difficult to find restaurants serving the cuisine of that country. To be fair, I've never seen a place in the U.S. named "American Restaurant."

4. Rainier cherries -- Really! Now that hit really close to home (err, former home).

3. Ford Focus police cars -- It was a little surprising to see any american cars zipping around the small European streets, but seeing a Focus (attempt to) drive through Paris traffic with its siren and lights on was quite amusing. Okay, I've never seen the police in the U.S. use a Ford Focus, but you get the idea.

2. Statue of Liberty -- I thought I had heard about this before, but it's still a bit weird to see. This one isn't green (yet), and it's quite a bit smaller, but at least it's in France. For those of you who preferred to sleep through american history (like me), the French gifted us our version.

1. Americans everywhere -- This is more true in Paris than Amsterdam, but you can't walk one block without hearing that horrible american accent that sticks out like a sore thumb (note: normally, I have no problem with the way americans talk, but it does sound out of place over here). I suppose this is why most merchants speak pretty good English, which has made it easier to get along than I expected (especially since my french is not at all coming back to me).

Anyway, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about american culture, but I didn't expect to find so much of it out here. Perhaps it's just a result of good old capitalism in that if something is successful enough in one place, someone's bound to try it elsewhere.

-Manish