What would you miss if you move abroad?

Hello again! It is Sunday, we have been in a beautiful park for the day, which made us think a lot about many things. Of course, for me it was also about what to write so that you a little additional piece in this puzzle that is our life in the US. So I decided that this time I can talk about what the US citizens  miss when they're abroad.

Every time that someone has to live in a different culture than his original one, there's certain things that seemed to be basic in the past, and now they are just not available anymore. I can think of some things that we missed from the time we settled in Stuttgart, and now it is more of the same. But, to do it more fun, I'll start summarizing some things that American miss when they live abroad. That way you can get the idea of how basic these things seem to be here. In a future post, we'll list the things we miss being here, that we we catch your attention for more time :) There's a couple of sites that helped me gather some facts together, so here they are:

- Food

You could think that the Americans don't have a very distinctive cuisine. And that might also be true, because what they miss is not necessarily one kind of food, but the variety. Some of them mention Mexican food: since they're so close, Mexican food does taste delicious in the US. You can get really good tortillas, and there is a lot of Mexican restaurants throughout the country, most of the time also inexpensive. In the big cities you can even find some parts where taquerias is the main kind of restaurant. Not to forget "Taco Bell", which might be the worst fast food chain of all times, but I'm sure once this gets in your blood from your childhood times, it just stays forever as a need.

Another kind of food American miss is their chili fries, which are just fries loaded with a lot of cheese, and ground meat (sometimes really, really hot). And of course, a good hamburger. Huge hamburgers, or proper-sized ones, if you will. In Europe, everything is smaller, so they would actually need a couple of them to compensate for the same amount that you can get here (for the same price, by the way). I think I understand them in this aspect :)

Something interesting is also the passion for popcorn. In fact, most microwaves have an option for popcorn, so you don't have to figure out how much time and level you need. I don't remember that from Europe.

- Drinks

There is a beverage that is probably only available here, I'm talking about root beer. We bought 4 bottles just to get to try them, three of them are still waiting in the fridge. It doesn't taste good,  but they miss it. Don't ask me why :)

Another thing is the ice for the drinks. And as a Spaniard, I also missed that when I was in Germany, I love my drink when it's really cold, not just coming from the fridge. I know, in Germany there's no need to drink a coke at 2 degC, but it tastes so much better. And so think the Americans as well. They also have unlimited refills for all soft beverages (they call them pops in Michigan), which I find great!

- Space

I don't think it is the first time I said this: everything is bigger here. The cars, the houses, the gardens, the malls, grocery shops... Especially the houses are something that I can imagine as difficult to accept, we actually have double so much space as in Germany, not even counting the garden. And I feel I could miss all this, I mean, the walk-in closet, the bathroom with two sinks, garage for two cars within the house, most people even have additional space in their basements, etc. We try to be conscious about the fact that this is as big as it gets, and we don't buy additional furniture to cover empty spaces, as they won't fit when we get back to a tiny house :)

- Shopping

In the US, shopping has a higher level. You can wake up at 3 AM and do your groceries. And the worst thing is, you will not be the only one. There's a lot of big grocery shops that open 24/7. And you can shop on Sunday! That way you don't have to accommodate your needs to the timelines from the shops, because there is no restrictions! I even remember the time we came from our vacation in Argentina, back in 2010. We arrived at 2AM and had to wait around 10 hours in Atlanta, and fortunately, it was Good Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. So, the officer in customs told us to get the train and go to a mall. We argued that it was too early, but he explained to us that in Good Friday, all shops open at midnight, and have special offers and discounts etc. and so we went. And the mall was packed!!

With the shopping, it is necessary to talk about taxes: 6% in Michigan! Compare it with 21% in Spain, for instance, it is way more expensive to buy the same product!

Also, here you can pay everything (about one dollar) with debit/credit card. It is hard to think of the last time we went to the bank. By the way, here the banks have a drive-thru, so you don't even have to get out of the car to get money. Convenient, right? No wonder the expats miss these things :)

And one other thing: Drug stores!! you can get all medicaments you want from them, just get them from the shelf and pay it! No waiting, no asking the pharmacist, a lot of medicaments don't even need prescription! Yes, it must be hard once you are used to that convenience...

- Gas stations

You don't have to pay inside, simply paying with your card in the counter where you are refilling will do it. In fact, you don't even have to decide a lot for the right fuel, because 99% of the cars use gas and not diesel (probably I exaggerated, but you get it, right?). So a lot of stations don't even have diesel available, or it any, it is located somewhere else. And they are so much bigger, so you normally don't have to wait a lot.

And most important, gas is SOOOOOO much cheaper than in Europe!! Although it has been increasing a lot lately, it is not comparable yet.


So, like I said, we do miss some things, and would like to share them with you, but let's do one thing at a time, and leave you awaiting for new posts!!

Lots of love

Lita & Andres

Summer has arrived!

Yes! The last days we've had like 30 degrees, it has been very warm, for a change. It is very nice after the cold winter, although sometimes it is just too hot to stay outside, and we end up hiding in the house for coldness :) I know, we ask for too much, 20 degrees the whole year, it's never going to happen. But it is a big change in comparison with Germany, I don't remember so many sunny days in a row, normally after the sun, there comes the storm, and stays over our heads for days. So that way, it reminds  me more of Spain.

And talking about the weather, it is very interesting, being in such a big country, to know that there are so different climate zones within the States. And the difference is not only between the interior regions and the coast, there are several other influences that identify the regions. See picture below.

As you see, Michigan sits between two climate zones, both are humid continental climates, light blue has warm summer, and dark blue has cool summer. Luckily for us, we're in the light blue :) But there are other interesting areas, like the mediterranean climate region, in California (although when we went to San Francisco it was colder than what I remember as mediterranean, but OK). Other regions, like Florida, have much more humid climates, which are good in winter, but in summer it's known for extremely humid and sticky. Even the southern tip of Florida is known for having tropical conditions (That must be why in Miami they all just wear bikinis and shorts!). And the yellow region is where we want to go this year for our holidays, the desert! Why the desert? I know it sounds weird, but we have seen so many beautiful images of those places, that it is for us a must-see. And of course, the dream of our lives, spend a night in Vegas (just kidding). But we'll get back to that when the time comes, and no worries, it is not going to be in the summer :)

Well, so many climates kind of defines the differences within people in the country. And over the six months that we have been here already (by the way, almost half a year already!), we have been learning some of the stereotypes. And why not, let's start with Detroit. When people hear "Detroit", in their minds there is a combination of crime, insecurity, guns, abandonment and decay. When we normally say we live in the Detroit Area, people ask us why. It doesn't matter if the city is starting to revive, it will always be understood as a lost city, at least in the next years.

But out of here, there's also a lot of stereotypes. For example, the west coast is known for being much more relaxed than anybody else. California and Oregon are characterized as laid back, open, living and letting live. There is a somehow funny and very freaky show called "Portlandia", named after the city of Portland, known for being very much into organic products, relaxed people sitting for hours in a cafe, full of hippies riding bikes and fighting for animal rights. And when you think of California, well, of course, there's beautiful blondes with worked out bodies, like in Bay watchers, right? But also they're known for their restrict environmental policies, and yet ironically, Los Angeles is also called "the biggest parking lot" for the constant traffic jam all around the city.

Then there's all these Midwest states, they're known for being conservative, large families, young couples getting married, etc. Also, they're huge states with little population, so they're mostly empty, with a lot of houses in the middle of nowhere. So their people are considered farms with kind of empty lives.

Going south from there, the state of Texas is known for their size (everything is big in Texas), the cowboys, and their weird accent.

The east coast is known for being much more direct and cutting than the rest. They also are more conservative in their dressing style, there's a lot of lawyers, and business people in suits. People from New Jersey are considered spoiled children, and New Workers are snob and fancy.

That's a quick overview of the stereotypes in the US, of course there must be loads of others than we don't know yet, but it is fun to see that here, like in every other country, there's significant differences between people, in their culture, their manners etc. I found a nice picture that defines the different regions, that I'm going to use to close this entry. Hope you liked this one, and beware because the fourth of July is coming! We're going to New York (to check if it's true what they say about them :)), and will tell you how the Americans spend their national day.

Lots of love!

Lita&Andres

Summer is just around the corner...

... but this year seems to be really slow, we got some days with spring temperatures, and yet the clouds and rain showers come every now and then. At any case, this is no excuse to do the plans that are already scheduled, right? So I'm going to tell you what we have been doing the last days.

First of all, we baptized the BBQ inviting some fiends for a grill at home. As you can suppose, this is a very important feature for the American life, and therefore we could not avoid getting a big grill so that we can grill big steaks :) The truth is that since we have it, we have grilled almost every day or so, everything tastes delicious, so why not?

Here you see some photos of the party. Look at the first one, the grill master!

Notice how Andres protect the grill as it was the most valuable piece of art in the house :)

The day after this evening we got visitors. Mimmi (Andres' cousin) and Camilla, a friend of hers, came to visit for a couple of days. They have been traveling around the US for almost two months, starting from the west coast and finishing their trip in New York. We are really jealous of how much they could see in two months, whereas we have been here for almost half a year now, and could not even do half of what they did. Of course, the fact that we have to work doesn't help... But back to the girls, we really enjoyed having them here, and took the opportunity to drive to Toronto for the weekend, it is a lovely city and the weather treated us "well" (sporadic showers would come and go, pretty similar to what we have in Michigan), so it was very enjoyable.

The views from the hotel room (new city hall)

Going for a walk in downtown Toronto

The following Monday, Andres and the girls went to Detroit downtown to explore the city. The girls enjoyed the city's story very much and could see that despite the many opinions that the city is dangerous, it could really be enjoyed on a sunny day.

This Joe Louie's arm is always good material for a funny photo :)

A couple of nice photos of the Guardian's building

One building on sale! There was a sign on one window, like people do with their houses, only this time is a huge building!! Only in Detroit :)

The views from the GM Renaissance Tower

The girls in front of the Michigan train station (already closed, abandoned years ago).

After a long work week we went to see the Tigers! The baseball team from Detroit are right now at the top of the division (but the season has only started, so that doesn't mean too much). It is a complicated game, somehow slow, and with some rules that make me difficult to follow it, but it is absolutely worth going even if you don't like the sport. There are a lot of different people, some of them watching, some just wondering around, friends meet for the game, etc.

The views from the city at night.

The game lasted almost 4 hours, but sometimes it can go up to 5. After the game, there is a firework show (I think the longest that I've seen, and I was told that there's fireworks independent of the score of the match:)). We have a video of "part" of the show, I think overall was more than 10 minutes non stop.

The last photo of the night was from the Fox Theatre, just 100 meters from the Comerica Park. We have to come to a show, it looks very authentic, doesn't it?

So, there is not a lot more to tell, so I'm going to end this entry, hoping to show you more next time we post.

Lots of love
Andres&Lita