america, america

I've been meaning to write a post about all that I do like about the US. As I mentioned before, it's always easier (and in some ways I think you have authority to do so) to be more critical with whatever group you fall into, or whatever country you live in - that is as long as you have freedom of speech to do so without being killed or imprisoned. That is one thing that I appreciate about the good US of A. I recently returned for a time from Spain to the US and thus am in the midst of re-entry / reverse culture shock / etc., and thus can be a bit more critical. So, here are some of the things I love here.

1 - That we do have rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom to be free, freedom of religion,...

2 - That we tend to value hard work, positivity, hope, encouraging others, tolerance, diversity, learning,... (We're by no means perfect in this and there are BIG problems, but this is true here in a way it is very few other places.)

3 - That you can accomplish a million things in one day. Efficiency. (I don't think this should be a higher value than community and than people, but I do appreciate it a ton.)

4 - Whole Foods... stores open 24 hours or later than meals, since I'm still pretty messed up in terms of the whole meal thing... It's common that I forget to eat lunch until 4pm and that I don't eat dinner or think of it at 8-10pm. And I'm STARVING at lunch, or my lunch, for a two course meal and at dinner for a tapa or two.

5 - I'm sure there are many more, but I'll have to do this when I'm more awake. :-)