Friday, March 18, 2011

Ice! and Water

Ice? you say. Yes, today's exciting topic is ice. Not ice on the ground thank goodness. Ice in your beverages.

I've been thinking about all the differences between our life here in Switzerland and what life was like/is like in the United States. We'll have spent 5 years in another country and no matter how "Western" it is - there are differences.

As our move back to the States approaches, many people ask "What are you going to miss?" "What aren't you going to miss?" "What will be the biggest adjustment?"

I can't answer any of those questions specifically. Not in one sentence. I wouldn't dream of condensing a whole 5 years of experience into a single statement. There is a long list of differences/experiences/behaviors that one can compare and contrast. Without picking favorites. OK, well, maybe there are a few favorites.

I decided the best way to go about this is to pick the various topics and have short posts about them individually. Some with pictures and some without. Some will be emotional and some frivolous. Topics such as: housing, kissing, chocolate, measurement & time, driving, etc... If you have a question surrounding a topic, please leave a suggestion in the comments or email me and I will add it to the list.

Ice. We have several small ice trays in our freezer. A month may go by without ever cracking an icecube out of a tray. I have to remember to empty and fill them ever so often because ice gets icky after a while if not refreshed. Especially in a freezer that requires defrosting every 6 months.

We drink our water cold but not iced. We drink our soda beverages straight. We like it cold but do you realize how watered down your drink gets with ice in it? :)

When ordering at the local McDonald's last week (a lunch date with Rachel), I was asked if I wanted ice in my drink. I ordered in German but my "cheeseburger" pronunciation gave me away. The young man switched to English immediately and asked about the ice. This happens elsewhere ever so often. They hear the American accent and automatically assume we want ice in our beverage even though they aren't serving it to others.

And the size! This picture is awful of the girls but when they set these "regular" soda's in front of us last summer in Minnesota, we looked in shock at those big glasses. We could have split 2 of those for the 4 of us. They were as big as Kendra's head (doesn't she look mad! heehee she's ok, just bad timing). Needless to say - we got our fill of Root Beer that day. How long will it take to re-adjust to the ice? We'll probably have an ice-maker in the frost-free freezer of our future home - wow!

But water? Free water at a restaurant? That I look forward to. It will save some $$ on the restaurant bill! $4-$6 per person. Except for the San Pelligrino - I do like my sparkling mineral water. Chilled. Not iced.

Cheers!

5 comments:

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

Thanks so much for popping over from Shelly's blog. Our family is funny about beverages and I do still like ice. Spent many a summer travelling in Europe, looking for a cube or two. (We took high school kids to Europe every summer.)

When does your transition to the States begin?

Fondly,

Glenda

Judy said...

It is funny to think about the differences even in small things like ice.
When we first moved to Singapore we ate at a Burger King. We ordered "meals" and said, "We'd like a #3 with a Coke", etc for each of us. So when we got our food we ended up with 8 drinks! Evidently the meals come with set drinks. We all laughed so hard.

I think American grocery stores with boggle your mind. Sooooo many choices. Sometimes ridiculous choices. Some of my pet peeves: the WHOLE aisle of chips and so many choices of toilet paper. I remember standing in the aisles after we moved backed from Singapore just overwhelmed.

Sarah said...

Oh, you make me smile. I can't wait for this series of posts!

I remember the first time I ordered a diet coke in Germany (summer of '00) and was shocked and dismayed at how small it was! But the tiny coke glass it came in was really, really, really cute. I asked the waitress if I could buy one and she snuck it out of the restaurant for me. shhhh... :)

Shelly Wildman said...

Well, isn't that fun that I've connected you and Glenda?? I love that!

Just wanted to let you know that Costco sells San Pellegrino by the case. I always have some on hand. :)

Olson Family said...

@ Glenda - the Hub moves in April and we move in June - several transitions to manage
@Judy - it's hard to explain to someone why I can hardly buy anything in the grocery stores. It takes so long to decide and so very overwhelming - even here I'm an "exterior aisle" shopper - going into a middle aisle only when necessary!
@Sarah - even my coffees are smaller :)

@Shelley - thanks for sharing Glenda's site and YES, can't wait for that new COSTCO card!