Why I appreciate the U.S. of A.

Not every difference was a bad thing, I just found that some of the differences between the Brits and us were just weird. For instance, lets just start with the driving thing...I don't understand driving on the right side and having a steering wheel on the right side of your car, and you'll never convince me it's better. I never drove out there because I was sure I'd get us in a wreck. Not only do you have to learn how to maneuver, there's a totally different set of rules for the road. In the country, there aren't many lights, instead they use roundabouts which eventually I got the hang of, but initially they just freaked me out, because I felt like we were always going to get hit. By the time I left England though, I told my sister that I kinda liked not having to deal w/streetlights and we could use more of those roundabouts out here. On the other hand, they have the best cars...they're typically smaller and faster. There's no SUV's hogging the road (I only saw two full size trucks and they were on the American base where my brother-in-law is stationed), but their roads are so small that they wouldn't fit even if they had them. What they do have are models of Fords, GM, etc., that are not in the U.S. Plus, they have lots of their own brands, like the Smart Car (I love this car - I just like smaller cars in general).

Now, let’s talk about their appliances. Everything from the dishwasher, to the stove/oven, to the washer/dryer is half the size of ours. My sister can't even load their dinner plates in the dishwasher because they're too large...yes, dinner plates!!! My sister does laundry ALL DAY LONG....she has to, to keep up w/it since she has her two men at home. Their washer might fit three pair of jeans or three bath towels and a few washrags. Again, don't get it. And forget about making a turkey for Thanksgiving in that oven!

Do you know that they don't put screens on their windows because if they do, they get taxed? Yeah, so in the warmer months (there is no air conditioning) they get all kinds of insects flying around. There is no water pressure, so I always felt soapy and to heat the water in their showers, you had to pull a cord that triggered the electricity to fire up whatever it was that eventually came out lukewarm. (Yes, sarcasm.) Their stairs are half the size of ours, which meant for me, I always had to hold the railing because only half my foot fit (and I only wear a 7 1/2 shoe size). Even their light switches are half the size of ours. Are we just a gluttonous country? Speaking of gluttony, they only have trash pick-up, every other week. Talk about the trash runneth over!

Ok, what else....the hotel we stayed at in London didn't have sheets for us to cover up with....I had to use the bedspread and I NEVER use a hotels bedspread....eewwwww! I did like that you're not required to tip out there, but we did just because we're used to it. Don't even bother taking a blow dryer or curling iron out there because their sockets are the size of baseballs. I'm sure there's more stuff, but I'm running out of steam so I'll stop for now. Bottom line is I love America, and there's no other place like it....but it's nice to get away to appreciate what we have.