1. Zoning laws 1. Here, if you have a big pile of bricks and some sand, you got yourself an extra room, or maybe an apartment behind your house. Whatever works.
2. Zoning laws 2. Thanks to my friend Ben, I just found out that it is ILLEGAL to keep chickens in your yard in Goshen. Seriously! What are we afraid of? Fresh eggs, pleasant clucking sounds; I don't see a bad side. I don't think my neighbors here would understand the concept of chicken illegality.
3. Nursing homes. I have a new appreciation for inter-generational living. So much so that Andrew and I are going to give it a go for awhile when we get back.
4. Anxiety, sometimes even fear, of women breastfeeding in public. I think this might stem from our overall fear of anything that connects us with the animal kingdom. I have gotten completely nipple de-sensitized... breastfeeding is everywhere. It happens everyday. It's natural. I promise. Nobody gets hurt.
5. Lack of good, cheap, inter-state public transportation. We can get from San Pedro to Tegucigalpa, a five hour bus ride, for less than $5. Or you can spring for air-conditioning, really comfy seat, movies, and a white bread/mystery meat spread sandwich plus a coke for $15, with no stops along the way. Why can't we do this in the states? Greyhound is tired and sad and drooping and super-inconvenient, not to mention strangely expensive.
6. Disposable diapers. Seriously. If Honduran women can get up at 5am to wash their cloth diapers by hand, we can take the time to throw ours into a washing machine. And save the planet a little.
7. The Buffet. Luke-warm, bad tasting, sneezed upon and handled food in massive quantities. Although this does not apply to Indian buffets, which are pretty much awesome and should be encouraged.
8. Absolutely enormous houses for small families. The houses that have rooms that nobody really goes into most of the time, but are still furnished, and of course, heated and cooled depending on the outside temperature. This particular beef relates to ridiculous thing number 3.
9. Lawns. Grass? Unless you're playing soccer or frisbee on it I'm really not sure what it's for. We should have gardens, and eat stuff from them. Or more trees. Shrubs at least.
10. Dryers. Sun, anyone? This also relates to beef numbers 1 & 2, as Ben also told me that in some places it is ILLEGAL to hang your laundry outside.
Wait! Just in case you are thinking that I have no love for my homeland, here is a quick list of things I totally love and miss and can't wait to get back to:
1. Sidewalks.
2. Bike paths.
3. Pedestrian right-of-way.
4. Diversity.
5. My bike.
6. Swimming pool access.
7. Gender equality.
8. Our constitution, which is old and easy to understand. I'm pretty sure a military coup would not fly under our constitution.
9. Trees in the cities. And birds.
10. Amazing variety of food.
11 comments:
Hey, there are way more birds in San Pedro than in Goshen. Don't you remember waking up to all the parrot squawking? Kind of like song birds.
Can you elaborate on your intergenerational housing plans?
My response list:
1) This is an amazing list
2) You have been gone from the Pacific NW for too long if you think we could ever dry our laundry in the sun in any month other than August.
3) I miss you
You are absolutely right Andrew. I was thinking about Tegucigalpa, which is sadly lacking in trees, not San Pedro. I miss the parrots.
Eric - we'll have to write a little update about what we're planning on doing when we get back, after we get it all figured out =)
Sigh. You're right. Far too long. Okay, well, whenever it's sunny.
Amanda, I appreciate your list. Some of these things concern me too except ouch, the one about the big house and small families kind of hit home. Somehow we are now owners of a large farmhouse and are only 4 people. Maybe the intergenerational living part is a way to solve that issue. On another note, forge ahead with cloth diapers and breastfeeding anywhere its convenient or necessary!
I also love zoning laws. We are currently in violation of a number of Akron borough zoning laws. One is for having weeds higher than 10 inches, I have know idea how they decide what is weeds and what is landscaping. We also don't have a house number that is at least 4 inches high. Can't wait until winter when they come by to check if we shoveled the snow off the side walk (thats a violation as well if you don't clear a 24 inch path)
Ah yes the good ole US of A
Love the lists :)
Love the lists :)
Re: #2
If you want more contrasts, Elkhart is considering a ban on pit bulls, but last I heard will probably not enact it.
So, maybe if I train my chickens to defend my property I can keep them??
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