differences

Random culture notes :)


At 4-way stops, nobody knows quite what to do with people turning left. The rule seems to be, whoever got there first, goes first, and if someone is turning, we sort of start over. It usually works out in the end.

The parks are not manicured and be-ribboned, a little scruffy around some edges. But free, full of grass that everyone can walk on, and much less crowded than in Europe.

The squirrels are ubiquitous! So many of them, so chubby, so fluffy. I was enjoying them in the park the other day - until I heard a god-awful scrrreeech. It sounded like one might eat the other. "Nature, red in tooth and claw." Methinks they are not as cute as they look.

Police are everywhere. I saw more police cars in the first month than I saw in 3 years in France. Almost more than I saw in 6 years in the Balkans, except that the police there loved to set speed traps, so we came across a fair number.

Slushies are called freezies.

And people make an "s" into a "sh" in front of tr's...sort of like German! Exshtremely, exshtra, shtrange.