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!