Trip back to the US

As many of you know, I recently went back to the US for work.  It was an 8-day trip and I really hated to be away from our new home!  Sue and the kids seemingly did really well without me (and luckily no one, especially Sue, was sick while I was away), but I know I was missed and that 6a CST (1p CET) Skype sessions only go so far in keeping in touch.

So, what do I want to say in terms of a reflection on the trip?  Well, mostly that I really didn't want to go.  I mean, I knew that I'd see some friends and have some good times along with the work (and did), but I just feel really into the swing of things here and especially on the language front, just wanted to stay.  I'm cherishing the time here and this opportunity, and any break in my experience just brings to the forefront that this is a temporary state of bliss!

But, given that I was going (I kept telling Grace that, "I have no choice, I have to go!"), it was time to make a shopping list.  And this may be as good a post as any to comment on what we can't buy here and why I had a shopping list ... anyway, here was my list ...
 - Dried cherries (for Russ, he's addicted!)

 - Brown sugar (for baking ... the sugar here is just not the same ... it's "real" and not "sticky")

 - Ranch dressing (for Henry, he's addicted!)

 - Mac-n-cheese (for Grace, a treat!)

 - Almond butter (for Russ)

 - Spices (cumin, chicken seasoning, cilantro, etc.)

 - Sour patch kids (a treat for Russ and the kids)

 - PB (for Henry and Grace, they don't like the PB we can get here)

 - Shout stick (practical reasons)

 - Wimpy Kid Diary 5 (for Grace)

 - Matchbook car book or Mighty Machines (for Henry)

 - Jo Nesbo book (for Sue)

We could survive without all of these, but it is fun to get some treats from back home.  

I remember that when my friend, Yossi, would come back to the US from Israel he'd have a list, but it was always for "big things that cost less" in the US.  But maybe he was just doing some grocery shopping too?  Anyway, it surprises me all the time that there are many things that we can't get here that we are used to (besides the above, black beans, fresh cilantro, yogurt that Henry likes, chocolate chips, baking soda, two of my secret ingredients for cookies!).  And then I remember that there are different tastes here and the US *is* the largest consumer market in the world (even if Fayetteville isn't).

And yes, there are some neat foods that we will miss once we have left ... that can be covered on a (much) later post :-)

So, I'm back and we all had the day off today for Austrian's National Day (reunification ... when the Allied Forces left Austria for good in 1955, 10 years after the end of WWII, can you imagine?).  We were going to go hiking (that's a traditional thing to do, so say the locals), but that kind of fell through due to weather and needing a car, and instead enjoyed a day of going to a great park, carving Jack-o-Lanterns, and visiting a couple of local sites (the double stairs and the Glockenspiel).  This weekend has a Halloween party and a 4-day trip to Salzburg on the agenda.  And tonight I made our plane reservations for Paris in November.  I'm back to being a European :-)

Russ