It has come to my attention that I frequently use the term "expat". It has also come to my attention that not everyone is familiar with the term. Quite simply, the definition of the word is "to leave one's native country to live elsewhere" or "to withdraw oneself from residence in one's native country". So, based on that definition, we are still an expat family. Despite moving back to North American soil, Canada and the USA are still two different countries, and there are many differences between them.
Don't get me wrong...the transition to the USA has been WAY easier than the transition to Switzerland was....but there are still some differences. I am working on figuring out the shopping...where to get the things you need, when you need them. A lot of the stores here in the USA are different than those in Canada...and from what I understand, different from region to region in the USA as well. Here there is a chain called the Stop and Shop. I have been in the store, and they have a great selection of items, but I have no idea how their prices compare to other grocery store chains, and if I am getting the best price for the items I am buying. In New England, the big box store is BJ's Wholesale...not Costco. I had never even heard of BJ's before, so I have no idea if they are as good as Costco, which I am familiar with. This list goes on and on. More stuff to figure out.
Don't even get me started on health care! How on earth are you supposed to know which network to chose, when you haven't had any dealings with anyone in any of the networks? My first question was, "What the heck IS a network?"
On a good note, everyone speaks English...and that makes it a LOT EASIER to get my questions answered! :-) People are friendly and make small talk. They smile and say "hello" to my children! There is customer service here too! WE CAN GO OUT TO EAT WITH OUR CHILDREN AT 5 O'CLOCK AND THERE ARE RESTAURANTS OPEN!!
All in all, there is good and bad to everything in life. It is just a matter of what you chose to do with it!
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3 comments:
You'll get used to the supermarkets eventually. Just keep an eye on the ads in the newspaper/mail. I can usually find whatever I need on sale at one of the chains each week. However, after more than a year in the US there are still items that I haven't found replacements for. And why the heck don't they sell Kraft peanut butter in the US? They sell Kraft everything else!
Yeah, I'm sure time will make things easier. Right now we aren't receiving any ads because we are in the temp. apt. Once we are in our house I am sure we will receive them.
And that peanut butter question is exactly what I have been asking myself since I got here! I had to buy Skippy! I never buy Skippy!
Don't they have Jiff that's good I need u to keep ur eyes open for big bags of combos The 7 11 lady told me she has only seen them states side I'm lucky if I find the small bags and the one big bag I found I'm sure had been sitting on the shelf for six months I had to blow the dust off lol
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