Please forgive me...

With only 8 days until I land on U.S. soil, I'm trying to prepare myself for re-entry in little ways.
I realize that returning to life in America is going to be an adjustment. I enjoy living in Uganda, and life here has become quite normal to me. Sometimes I forget how strange things here must be to people experiencing life in Uganda for the first time.

I often find myself asking silly questions trying to remember something about American culture or terminology.
"What do we call Irish back home?... Oh yeah. Idaho potatoes."
"Do we say 'take away' at home?... No, it's called 'carry-out' or 'to-go.'"
"I hope I don't say 'It's over' or 'It's not there' when we're out of something."

I anticipate missing the slower and simpler way of life in Uganda. Fewer options can be freeing and being home before dark most evenings leaves me with plenty of free time.

But for all the little Ugandan habits and sayings I've picked up, I haven't completely forgotten what America is like! I really think that I'm going to appreciate the organization, health codes, and abundance of systems and structures in ways I never have before. I can't wait to shop at a real mall and go to the gym as often as possible.

So please forgive me...

• if I am giddy about the extremely wide aisles, shopping carts, clean floors, and selection at the grocery store.
• if I spend a lot of afternoons at the mall enjoying brand new clothing and aesthetically pleasing shopping experiences.
• if I am appalled at the price and quality of produce. I might have a hard time understanding why we can't get gigantic avocados for 15 cents, four green peppers for 25 cents, or a pineapple for 50 cents. Or why bananas taste like plastic and pineapple is so sour.
• if I spend hours at a time browsing the Internet and watching YouTube videos just because I can without worrying about many megabites I'm using.
• if I rave about how comfortable the furniture is and how nice it is to have carpet.
• if I get overwhelmed with and can't keep up with the go-go-go of the typical American lifestyle.
• if I spend a lot of time at the gym. I've missed it a lot.
• if I say strange phrases that totally don't make sense in American English. I'll figure it out soon enough!