Pro/Con

For those of you who don’t know – I spent the last 7 months traveling throughout Southeast Asia and several countries in southern Europe. More to come on how I am not adjusting to the states, but today I thought I would make a confession. During my daily activities I’ve gotten into the habit of making comparisons between the U.S. and foreign countries in the form of pro/con lists. Sometimes it is a short list, but if I have enough time to think about it, it becomes a very long list. Here are a few excerpts of my most recent ones (if you are in the mood for quick anecdotes, read the green text):

Pro/Con of Attending a Festival in the States:
Pro – Everything is in English! Therefore I can easily procure the food I want and locate areas quickly (bathroom, food, clothing, etc)
*One day My Husband and I returned to our apartment in Italy to discover that a festival was in full swing in the nearby piazza. The festival's food stations were located directly in our parking lot and let me tell you, the sizzling meats smelled fantastic! Unfortunately, all the instructions for how to get the food you want, as well as the list of available yummies, were in Italian. No problem, I thought, I can figure this out! Big. Fat. Negative. I'll make this a short story and say that in the end we did not get any of the yummies. It was a sad day.*
Con – I can not play dumb when someone asks me something and I just don't want to respond.

Pro – I know how to dance to the music!
Con – I miss dancing like a crazy person and learning new dances like the strange Electric Slide meets Cupid Shuffle My Husband and I witnessed in Cinque Terre.

Rabac, Croatia

Pro – I know what all the food is and there are no fried insects in sight.
*I never was brave enough to try those fried insects. I tagged along with some German guys who did taste a few; they claim that fried crickets are the best, with beetles and mealworms coming in second and third.*
Con – There are no new and exciting foods...or foods I thought I knew but they do it better!
*I sincerely doubt that any food festival will ever serve a larger or better array of ethnic foods than the Sunday Night Market in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Everyone add that to your bucket list right now. You could buy anything and everything at that market - including the best food I have ever tasted.*

Chiang Mai Night Market   Chiang Mai, Thailand

Pro - Everyone is drinking beer and it is easy to get beer!
Con – There is no con here. I prefer festivals with beer.

Pro/Con of Riding a Train in the States:
Pro – All the signs are in English!
Con – Everyone is speaking English. This easily distracts me and I find myself listening in on boring conversations and therefore losing my place in my interesting book.

Pro – Air conditioning!
*Although there were many trains in Italy where I wished with all my heart for air conditioning, one ride in particular sticks out in my mind. I was on a train from Bologna to Florence and there were only two tiny windows in the entire car that opened. Myself and another passenger promptly opened those and sat as close as possible. However, halfway through the trip, an unstable looking gentleman sitting near me whipped a screwdriver out from his man purse (remember, these man purses are popular in Italy, carrying screwdrivers in them is not) and proceeded to screw the windows shut! Well of course I was terrified because I saw two possibilities in my near future. One, I was going to die in a terrorist attack when this guy opened his canister of sarin gas in the now airtight compartment. Or two, I was going to die of heat stroke. Thankfully neither of these occurred.*
Con – I almost froze to death on the ride from St. Louis to Chicago. I had to wrap a sweater around my feet because I hadn't worn socks. Silly me as it was nearly 80 degrees outside - what was I thinking wearing flip flops instead of snow boots?

Pro – It is appropriate to travel in sweats.
Con – I feel icky at the end of the trip. At least when I arrived someplace in Italy I felt good about myself...even if I had grumbled about dressing up before getting on the train.
*On the trip from Rimini to Pordenone I decided to wear flip flops, shorts, and a tank top. I was meeting Americans and figured, who cares! Before we left, the guy who took me to the station looked me up and down, then asked how long it would take me to get ready. I told him that that was what I was wearing. He just looked confused.*

Pro - There is room for your luggage.
*In Vietnam and Sri Lanka you take all of your luggage into the car with you and surprise! my suitcase didn't fit into the miniature overheard bin area. Therefore it occupied the place in front of my seat where my legs would usually go. I yogafied myself and had them cross legged on top of the suitcase. In Italy there was never enough room either. Thankfully, Italians are more like Americans and allowed for my suitcase to overflow in the aisle a bit.*
Con - Everybody has giant luggage and you have to battle for space.

Pro – Nobody asks you for money or tries to sell you useless items.
Con – There is no con to this. This is my favorite aspect of using public transportation in the states.

Pro – Passengers keep their trash to themselves and do not throw uneaten food, wrappers, etc onto the floor.
*The experience I had on the train from Hanoi to Ninh Binh in Vietnam is a perfect example of this. Women walked up and down the aisles selling unknown foods steamed in banana leaves. The smell was atrocious and people kept unwrapping the banana leaves and throwing them on the floor. This included the kid in front of my friend who spent most of the ride hanging over his own seat, staring at my friend's face.*
Con – Again, no con to this. It is my second favorite aspect of using public transportation in the states. It is only second because I don't feel that there will be karmic retribution as I did when I wouldn't purchase bracelets from small children who really should be in school.

Overall Con to riding trains in the states - there is no wonderfully exciting scenery to stare at! 

A view from the train of Sri Lanka's beautiful tea country.