Reverse Culture Shock

This is something I'm not a stranger to in the least.  It happens when you return from a period of time from another culture & country & are trying to get used to life back in your home culture.  Yesterday, I was sitting at Barnes & Noble w/a friend and saw someone walk by in a Jacksonville Jaguars tshirt.  My first thought was "Oh they're from Jacksonville!" and I got excited and then remembered that it didn't matter because I was in Jacksonville and not Austria anymore.  Also, when I first entered Barnes & Noble I was a bit taken aback at how BIG it was.  I know some of you are probably thinking I'm exaggerating or at worst "being dramatic" but 2 months, as short as it sounds, really is a long time.  And I had been shopping in bookstores that were the size of convenience stores.  Amanda texted me yesterday to say she'd almost had a nervous breakdown going to the grocery store because of how large it was as well.  I'm glad to know I'm not alone right now!

Jet lag is still very much present.  I slept in til 11:30 yesterday and felt fine up until about 7pm and then wanted to crawl into bed.  It was 1am in Austria and I could feel it!  I managed to stay up til 11 and slept til 7:30 this morning.  We'll see how long I last today.

It's my mother's birthday today and we're celebrating at Reina's tonight.  It will be Bridgett's first formal family celebration.  I guess I totally forgot to mention that the weekend I was in Prague, my brother proposed and he & Bridgett will be getting married on June 2!

I'm having some quiet retreat time right now at Barnes & Noble while my mother is off meeting with someone about Premier.  I miss my little window at the Starbucks on Kärtnerstrasse.  But this table at B&N will have to do for now.

More later.