A Bit of Culture Shock

So I've been home now a little over two weeks, and I'm getting used to driving everywhere and sitting in the office and being part of ongoing relationships again, but it's a bit of a shock. This includes the matter of taking my meals at home, something I didn't expect. On my travels, I could have a satisfactory breakfast for 2.50 Euros, with delicious coffee, better than what I make at home, and a chance to hear the hum of other people's lives, even to chat with some of them. Then, at 2:00 or so in the afternoon, I'd have a nice dinner for something like 10 Euros (more in Madrid and Barcelona, of course!), again with the "people" benefits of being in a restaurant, and no dishes to wash after. A bit of cheese and fruit later in the evening, and my food day was complete. Clearly, I can eat for less at home, but it feels lonely and troublesome. And that 2:00 PM meal does not exist here.

Driving everywhere: I live in town, where I can walk to work, walk to many shops -- the drug store, the bank, the library, a lovely pastry shop, a greengrocer, a small supermarket, several restaurants -- but the "real" supermarket, the health store, places to buy clothing, the airport, they are all only available by car. Or by this quirky local transit system, if you have lots and lots of time and a really good sense of humor. And there are places I want to go for fun where the car is really the only choice. In Europe, I even took the train to the trailhead for my backpacking trip.

Of course, the Europeans are inventing suburbs where cars are really convenient and stores are designed for people to drive up to them, but I think it's time for all of us to be thinking about going the other way. It's ironic, I think, that the closest location of my bank is a drive-through, whose automatic teller can be used by foot after hours, but you're not supposed to approach on foot, just by car. So when the humans are there, they can't wait on you if you're not in a vehicle. I've resolved to bring the walking and transit riding to my life here in the land of "live free or die," not to be a prisoner in my wheeled metal shell.

There are physical and spiritual benefits to being in the world without that shell of a car, I'm thinking. I wonder how it will be?