The List Goes On

My time in the States is winding down. And when I get back, I will likely no longer have time to write creatively. So let's add to the list while I'm still thinking about it. 

4. Halloween. Ok, I've spent the majority of this trip in Massachusetts (where I lived for many years) so I'm not surprised that there are traces of Halloween in October. But I was stunned by the fact that a yard in Quincy was this decked out in September - more than a month before Halloween. 

Quincy, MA

Nor was I ready for the extent that some home-owners go to in decorating their yards. 

Ipswich, MA

Quincy, MA

Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn, NY

I began sending these pictures to my family WhatsApp thread (with messages like "Isn't this crazy?!").

Worcester, MA

But this one in Worcester, MA takes the cake as far as I'm concerned. The next three pictures are from the same yard. 

I think I've gathered enough data to support the thesis that for many in the U.S. Halloween is one of the most important events of the year. Or am I misinterpreting the evidence?

If there is a Croatian yard 1% this decorated when I get back, I will be surprised. It's not because Halloween doesn't exist. It's just not a family event. There are Halloween parties at cafes and clubs in late October. But there's no "Halloween season" throughout the month. I'm guessing some of that is because of Maškare (Carnival) in February. But even then, yard scenery is non-existent. 

5. House gadgets. I'll have to admit, I never thought of my parents as tech gurus. But they were far ahead of me when it comes to getting into locked buildings without a key. When I arrived, they explained that they had a fob for me so I could enter their residence on my own. To which I responded: 

    "What is that word that you are using?" 

     "It's a fob."

    "I've never heard of that before, what does it stand for?"

Well, that had all of us stumped so I had to look it up. It turns out that I've actually used a fob before in the mini-van we rented 4 years ago when our whole family visited. But no one had told me that's what it was called. And the longer I stay here, the more I realize that fobs are pretty universal now. Do we have these in Europe? In Croatia? Kako se zovu?

But then there's this other thing that it seems like every kitchen I've visited has now that it didn't have 3 years ago - a grill. Or at least that's what it looks like. 

What's its purpose? 

See Hulu and Roku had me all mixed up when I was looking for the playoffs on TV. But I get that. There are always new apps and channels. But I thought the kitchen sink was already as technologically advanced as it could be. 

6. Air Conditioning/Heat

I have a theory that the temperature of a certain place relative to the temperature outside brings a sense of security to the people residing within that space. In cultural Eastern Europe - that's heat, while in the U.S. it's air conditioning. Let me explain. 

When I moved to Croatia, I was stunned by how warm many people kept their houses in the winter time. Although this has changed over the last 20 years to some extent, many living rooms and kitchens were enclosed - as in, there were doors separating these rooms from the hallways and sometimes from one another. The point is to save on heating. You don't heat rooms you're not using. But those rooms that were being used were like saunas. Here's the key. Even the people who were used to that were hot. But similar to how you cook good food and lots of food for your guests, it's a way to make someone feel at home. 

As an American, although they were being very kind and generous and fed me well, I did not feel at home because their homes reminded me of boot camp at Parris Island in July. I sweat through all my clothes. 

Looking back though, feeding the stove was their way of showing they cared. Because to many Croatians, especially older generations now, being warm keeps colds away. It keeps you healthy. And that's the most important thing.

There's a very similar, but opposite way of thinking on the American side of the Atlantic. Imagine walking into a grocery store on a 95 degree summer day and the store is exactly the same temperature as it is outside. You would not think about buying a single grocery item. Although more than half of the items in the store would be just fine, you would turn around to get back to the air-conditioned car before you could say "sour milk".

In other words, there is a sense of security Americans feel when they walk into a grocery store and it feels like it's about to snow. In our minds, it means everything is fresh. 

So while this is changing to some extent, and I have gotten used to the Croatian fear of the draft to some extent, I am more uncomfortable in this air-conditioned room I'm sitting in that I would have been 20 years ago. It's 40 degrees outside and the air-conditioning is on! What in the world?!?

No one else is here! And I get that the thermostat is set to a certain temperature. But regardless of whether you walk in here at midnight, or 3 in the afternoon, if it's 98 degrees outside, or 0, the air is circulating. Energy is being used. I just don't get it. 

On the Croatian side, the most extreme example of this is preschools in the winter. In the 5 minutes it takes to drop my son off, I feel like getting into my swimming trunks before going back outside on a February morning. 

So the contrast is still there; energy being used to make it hotter than it needs to be in Croatia, and energy being used to make it cooler than it needs to be in the U.S. Does that make sense? Does anyone have a better explanation?