Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore

Sometimes life is so comfortable that I forget I am the "extranjero," the foreigner.  Sometimes I am sailing through life without many bumps and then all of a sudden something happens and I am reminded this isn't Kansas, or North Carolina, or even the USA for that matter.

As I type I am sitting in Burger King while Alex goes to youth.  It is too far to go home in between so I usually spend 3 hours, twice a month, at Burger King.  It is close to the church and has free wi-fi and free refills.  What else could I want?


This is the sign I see sitting in my booth.  Yeah, it is even in English.  Ahh, a nice touch of familiarity.  But wait, what about the rest of the experience.

For example, I had a salad as my side.  Normal enough, but they never asked me what kind of dressing I wanted because there are no choices - olive oil and dressing.  And when I opened my salad, no cucumbers or carrots or croutons, but yes - topped with whole kernel corn.

And when I ordered, the cashier asked whether I wanted refresco (soft drink), cerveza (beer), or agua (water).  You can even get a cerveza in the drive through because no one drinks in their car, not even the diet coke.  They even put your cups in a bag, no drink holders.

At church this morning we were hit with one of those "this ain't Kansas" feelings too.  The worship service began with forty minutes of announcements and no one was bothered.  Why not?  Because as the one who was officiating the service said, "this many announcements means we are an alive church."  And no one (not even me - boy is God stretching me) was bothered that the service went 30 minutes later than normal.  But no one would say it went late, just longer.  And when the pastor was using Superman as an illustration and mispronounced Lois Lane's name, it was normal for the congregation to ask him who he was referring to and then correct him.  Yep, in the middle of the sermon.

Before coming to Burger King I went to Carrefour - the closest thing we have to Super Wal-Mart.  This store always reminds me I am in Spain.  Other than having to repeatedly think to myself "If I were a Spaniard I would put ____ with ____," I always have to take a deep breath when I walk in.  Imagine walking into Wal-mart where the line of cash registers are.  You can't walk straight in to the aisles and you definitely can't walk between cash registers.  Instead, you must walk all the way down to the farthest end of the registers where there is the single entrance into the aisles.  Inevitably, what I need is near the first cash register so I cover that distance twice.  Not a big deal, but makes me shake my head every time!

And of course there is driving.  I am getting used to the ways of the road, but not sure the American in me will ever get used to the layout of the roads.  You might see the mall from the interstate but you can't get to the mall from the interstate.  It is not unusual to have to drive 5 to 10 minutes around several round abouts and service roads to get to the main shopping areas.  Every time I am navigating these roads I think "if this was the US these stores would die."  Spaniards aren't bothered by this, so I am learning to not be either.

And of course I return to Burger King.  Why only Burger King each week?  Well, because on Sundays (except for the first Sunday of the month) most stores are closed.  Only the big centro commercials (malls) are open.  In the states I would cram as many errands as possible into these three hours, but here I am learning to cherish the time to blog, study, read, and remind myself that "we aren't in Kansas anymore."