  I'm sure that J and L know that I'm in the states now, but if there's any other readers, you now know as well. I have now furniture at this time, it's still on the slow boat from Europe. So I'm sitting in the extra bedroom of my new apartment and waiting for my long-ago purchased French Press to finish brewing the java.
I'm just starting to get over the culture shock of coming back to america (brb coffee's done)....because after being so accustomed to existing in Sicily, it's not the easiest thing to leave "home" to come "home"...strange as that may sound. I like the conveniences though, DSL, satellite, and adequately insulated houses. At the same time there's a lot of charisma in living where you aren't catered to hand and foot by media or 24-hour ease of living. I like it here but there's a large part of my heart that strains for the good things in life that don't come with technology. Good example would be that american "cappuccino" sucks. Just five minutes from my previous abode, there was a place like a coffee shop (bar in italy) where they make the best expresso, cappuccino, and a bunch of other little foodstuffs that I can dream about even now.
Ahhhh, french press coffee. Of course there's something to be said about being able to talk to everyone in the street or the shops if you need to. I will say this, americans can't drive for shit. When first going to Italy I thought they couldn't drive, but that was only because I didn't understand the common "unwritten" laws of the road.
They are superb drivers, no wonder why we stick to 4 left turns and call that racing. But I digress...or do I. It's difficult to fully compare the two societies because they're totally different as far as value structure and lifestyle. You can say that one country has some things and the other has other things, but it doesn't allow for a accurate comparison of the two. I cut myself with a butterknife this morning (laugh now but wait til you see them). Arreviderci 
