not ceasing from exploration

So I've been home for exactly 2 weeks now. Although there are many things that feel strange about being here and although I miss Spain like crazy, it is good to be home. I love this little quote from TS Eliot's poem "Little Gidding" from which I stole the title to this entry:

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

Here are some of my observations of things that really stuck out to me about being different from here and there:

-country music!
-soooo many American flags and patriotic stuff
-pick up trucks
-everyone in passing speaks English (that really threw me off at first)
-gross beer such as Budlight and Miller
-but great beer like Yuengling
-sporting events are quieter compared to Spain.
-crazy hot and super humid weather with ridiculous heat storms to follow
-no drinking in the streets before and after games
-jeans, shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops are everyday attire. acceptable for most locations
-gangster rap
-ghetto talk. Philly slang! I suddenly don't know any of it.
-yellow school buses
-smoking in a bar?!?!
-I no longer know who or how much to tip
-2nd hand shops/thrift stores!
-contact solution cost me $6 for 2 bottles in stead of $15 for 1
-15 foot pythons are found in my neighbor's yard... uh what?! did I suddenly move to the Amazon?
-National futbol games are only on the Spanish channel and certainly not in any of the bars
-uh... soccer. sorry.
-I can call and text whoever and whenever I want :)
-churches have 100's of people
-the coffee needs A LOT of help
-most vehicles are unnecessarily large
-no one knows who Javi Martinez, Juan Mata, Muniain, Bojan or De Gea are when I tell my story about meeting the national sub 21 team in the airport.
-I can wear heels and not tower over EVERYone. Just mostly everyone :)
-good bread is hard to find. and it costs more.
-however, good Mexican food is always right around the corner... (menos mal)
-People can actually pronounce my name!