My Homecoming

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July 19, 2009

This will stay on top of all posts until the contest is over. If you know a couple deserving of free wedding photography, please have them read this/Esto sera el comienzo de todos los post hasta que se acabe el concurso. Si conoces a alguna pareja que merezca fotografia de su matrimonio gratis, por favor, diles que lean esto.

As I sit here in Starbucks (I know, I come here all the time. Don’t judge me. I’m a stereotypical gringa), it’s only fitting that the most honky tonk version of This Land is My Land is playing throughout the store. It was just the other day that I was telling a friend that living in a trailer in the U.S. isn’t really typical in a lot of places, although it’s more common in the Southern regions. Then she started asking me questions about Southern culture, and aside from wedding talk, I really couldn’t tell her much. Sometimes it amazes me how little I know about my very own country — or how much I know but have already forgotten.

Like peanuts — in Chile people always put out little bowls of peanuts. I bought some at Lider for a party last week and then started wondering — did I used to bring peanuts to parties in the U.S.? Do we do that? And I couldn’t answer my own question.

That’s how going back to the U.S. always is for me. It’s familiar, I’m comfortable there. But at the same time, I’m left scratching my head wondering if I’m following cultural norms or not. I marvel at things that used to be the norm.

And the last several times I’ve been back, I’ve been in Tampa, where I went to college. I haven’t been to Grandville, Michigan, where I grew up, in a long time. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll see a lot of my childhood friends, I can run around at my old haunts, visit past teachers and coaches, show S. my roots.  I’m curious to see how much has changed, how much I’ve changed. It’s weird for me to think about my mom and brother still having their life there, good friends making their lives there, when I feel so far removed from the town. It will be interesting to see if I still feel like a part of it, or not.

Hopefully this time I won’t need to see a shrink for reverse culture shock, like I did when I moved back to Florida after a year and a half in Chile without a visit to the U.S. :)

We leave on Tuesday for the U.S. and are currently in the throws of packing, passport/visa checking, getting me to the final doctor’s visits and taking care of last minute details. Things have been pretty hectic and I’m looking forward to getting this trip underway so we can start to enjoy yourselves and embark on a new adventure. That, and I’m beyond anxious to play with my new toys!

And in other news, I put my summer calendar up. If you’re thinking about booking, red dates with couples’ names are the dates we’re booked, and red dates with a country or city name, we’re open, but traveling. If you happen to live in a place we are traveling to, let me know. We will be bringing all our photo gear along with so we’ll be available!

Check it out, you might see someone familiar’s name written down for the month of March…if you haven’t done so already, tell her congrats!

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9 Comments

  1. I just saw my name on the calendar…it's real!

    I don't think we did peanuts, but it took me a while to remember too. I sometimes wonder just how many strange things I do when I go home without realizing or having anyone say anything to me.

    Comment by emilyinchile — July 20, 2009 @ 6:50 am

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  2. My experience abroad has helped me appreciate the US so much more. However, I still struggle with my home town. I love seeing my family and the memories I have there, but I feel so different than my friends who chose to stay their for their whole life. It isn't an “I'm-better-than-you” different. I don't feel that way at all. Sometimes I just can't connect bc we took such different paths. Most have kids now and are moving into bigger homes. Nothing like what has happened in my life thus far. Most days I've very happy about that though.

    I hope you have a great trip and a wonderful time rediscovering your roots and culture!

    Comment by Lori — July 20, 2009 @ 7:41 am

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  3. In the US I kind of remember nuts, not necessarily peanuts (sometimes I remember thinking it was ridiculous because i've seen ones where you actually have to crack them). Also, m&ms, colored mints or candies that are kinda glass-looking…

    BUT I have never noticed that people put peanuts out in Chile. I'm sure I've seen it a couple times (its always at the bars) but i've never taken notice of it at someone's house.

    Comment by lydia — July 20, 2009 @ 8:08 am

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  4. In terms of peanuts and southern customs, I used to live in New Orleans and when I'd go out to the bayous for parties, they loved to put out boiled peanuts. It's an acquired taste, one that I never acquired either. They don't do BBQs in Louisiana, they do crawfish boils and boiled peanuts. Elsewhere, you usually find the peanuts in their shells being offered at dive bars and what not. Not as common. There's a few things about the Deep South that always threw me off. I'm Canadian, so when I order tea in a restaurant, it's just assumed that it's hot tea. Down south, if I ordered just tea, they brought iced tea. I had to specify that I wanted it hot. And if I ordered a Coke, they would ask me what kind, to which I answered “regular”. Then they would say, “No Sugar, what FLAVOUR, do you want?” Fanta, sprite, pepsi, coke…. some places, they just call it all Coke. It got confusing sometimes…. I do miss sitting at the sidewalk patios in the French Quarter though, sipping mimosas in the morning with the scent of magnolias wafting through the streets and mingling with the smell of fresh beignets… New Orleans has always been my favourite part of the deep south. No other place like it.

    Comment by The Luck Gypsy — July 20, 2009 @ 10:19 am

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  5. Have a great trip! Take some pictures of the beach for me… I am orginally from Muskegon… not too far from Grandville… and the nice sandy beaches of Lake Michigan are one of the things I really miss (Chilean beaches are just not the same!) I hear the weather is supposed to warm up a bit this week! And as I recall, peanuts are mainly only served with little mints at showers and stuff…

    Comment by laurelmonette — July 20, 2009 @ 12:32 pm

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  6. Hey…enjoy…wishing you two a safe trip etc…#:-)

    Comment by miguel — July 20, 2009 @ 1:27 pm

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  7. ahh!! i am from michigan (between kalamazoo and Grand rapids) and lived for 4 years in alabama so the comments from The lucky gypsy and laurelmonette really struck a chord with me! i love sweet tea, the beaches on the gulf of mexico, the great lakes (especially lake michigan) crawfish boils and grits of course. boiled peanuts (cajun flavor) are good too but i ate too many in the car once and got sick so since then dont have much of a taste for them…

    have a great time in michigan kyle, and wave as you pass the wayland exit on 131 for me :)

    Comment by Emily — July 20, 2009 @ 3:19 pm

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  8. “To emigrate is to become a foreigner in two places at once”

    http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/brieflyno…

    Comment by markwoneill — July 21, 2009 @ 3:42 pm

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  9. “To emigrate is to become a foreigner in two places at once”

    http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/brieflyno…

    Comment by markwoneill — July 21, 2009 @ 10:42 pm

    Reply

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