Back in the U.S.A.

I’m back!  After several months’ hiatus from blogging, I’ve returned.  I’m inspired by my American friends and families who actually DO read the blog from time to time, so thanks for the affirmation and don’t forget, you asked for it.

We recently visited family and friends in the U.S. for 10 days and here are the most salient recollections.

1.     It’s nice to breathe fresh air, and see blue sky and the sun.  We’ve missed all those items while in Suzhou.

2.     People are still very friendly in the Midwest.  When I was running in Iowa City or suburban Chicago, people greet one another naturally and sincerely.  That’s nice, too, and even though I would certainly not characterize the Chinese as unfriendly, there is the matter of the language barrier, and I still hold that Midwesterners are the most friendly. Which leads me to #3.

3.     It’s nice to speak the language where you are.  You can have sustained conversations with people in shops, or just about anyone who’s game. Here in Ireland I have had some occasions where I’m not sure if I’m being spoken to in English or Irish, but either way, accent or another language, I’m not getting it.

4.     Friends and family are very comforting to be around. I felt myself unwinding daily with each friendly encounter; it’s a mighty advantage and not something I take for granted. 

5.     I still love Mexican food.  Thank heavens for Rick Bayless’s genius idea to put small kiosks in O’Hare; it’s been the best thing to happen to O’Hare since the planes started flying.

6.     The health care situation is officially out of control in the U.S.  A few quick examples.  At one of the local hospitals when I told them I needed to pay cash for my visit, they were so flummoxed that I had to give them 24 hours to generate a bill.  Then there’s the pharmaceutical industry.  I should have been suspicious when two different doctors in the same day warned me about comparison shopping once they learned I was paying for the drugs myself, but I was shocked to find out the range of the differences. One drug I needed was over $900 at Walgreen’s, and the winner was Costco at $204.  Not exaggerating even a little.  I had a similar experience with another drug that is unavailable in China, but still had to pay way more than I wanted to, or about 3000% more than I paid for the exact same drug from the same company when we lived in India.

We’ve been in Ireland for a few days now, so it’s difficult to focus on what we were doing last week, but one last point:  Target is not something one should take for granted.  It is a national treasure and oh how I wish they had conquered other continents the way I see Wal-Mart going after those markets. Shopping at Target is an incredible time hacker.