Culture Shock! Back in the U.S.A.

Weeeee'rrrrreeee Baaaaaacccckkk!!!! Unbelievably, we flew from Paris and landed in New York and passed through US customs without having plans to leave the country for the first time in 3 years. What a strange feeling it was. And against all odds, we completed four months of traveling around the world without once losing baggage.
We met up with Tiffany's friend from college, Peitra (on the left, above), and her friend Stephanie, and started to re-acquaint ourselves with life in America. There's no better place to experience native Americans in their natural habitat than New York! Our tour began with a nice walk across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan on a hot, sunny day.
We took a rest on the Staten Island Ferry, a great way to see New York City from the water, and FREE to ride. It was Zach and Tiffany's first time visiting the fifth borough of New York. Also on display right now in New York is a public art work called Waterfalls. Four waterfalls, each about 100 feet tall, were built along the water.
Tiffany also celebrated her 32nd birthday in New York. We went for lunch to Tao, for Chinese food ironically enough. Even though the converted movie theater boasted a 16-foot Buddha statue, Tiffany was not impressed, since she is now doomed to suffer from Snobby World Traveler's Comparison Syndrome. As in, "That's cute but have you seen the Reclining Buddha in Bangkok? 150 feet long and 50 feet high - Now that's impressive!"

The food, however, was delicious, and amazingly, the wait staff acknowledged our presence and actually brought us water (potable, too!) without us asking. Like a Chinese Dorothy, Tiffany said (to her Pekinese Toto), "We're not in Zhejiang Province anymore!"
We passed by the famous bull of Wall Street,
and Zach was reminded of his investment banking days in New York. We stopped by his old Credit Suisse office, where he lived during his first year after college.
For dinner it was Italian dining al fresco. We were apparently determined to regain any lost weight from our travels as quickly as possible!
Our good friends from Shanghai, Marc and Meredith, are now in New York and were kind enough to host us during our visit. Meredith was even kind enough to brave Times Square with us, a New Yorker's worst nightmare swimming through hordes of tourists.
We finished up by catching a show on Broadway, Avenue Q. Tiffany's initial fears of watching a boring children's show (the play features Sesame Street-like puppets) proved to be unfounded, as it turned out to be the raunchiest and most hilarious puppet show ever!

It was a great re-entry into America, because while we were sad that our international travels were over, we met up with good friends, discussed the fun and frustration of living abroad, and were reminded of all the great sights and experiences that the US also offers.

Next it was on to Chicago, where we stayed with Tiffany's parents and celebrated Tiffany's grandfather's 90th birthday party! Amazingly, her grandfather, aka Papa, is in fantastic shape and his heart was more than strong enough to survive the "This Is Your Life"-style birthday party, where Tiffany's parents arranged for various people from Papa's past to come out and surprise him.
A family picture around Papa and his wife, Nana, also still equally spry and lively, was taken with Nana and Papa holding a caricature of themselves. Tiffany had given a picture of her grandparents to an artist in Shanghai before we left. The artist then turned out a drawing of Nana and Papa in traditional Chinese dress, with the dress including Nana waving a traditional Chinese fan, and Papa executing a kung-fu kick!
After all that excitement, Tiffany and Zach headed for the Tomaszewski's vacation home, on the lake shore in La Porte, Indiana, about an hour from her Chicago home. There we met up with Tiffany's good friend Elizabeth for some rest and relaxation.
Tiffany's brother, Tommy, owns the sweetest, most adorable boxer dog, aptly named Cassius. Cassius was not left wanting for affection that weekend!
Here we are with Tiffany's parents (on the far left and right), and cousins Skip and Muffin. Skip and Muffin are twins, those are not their real names, and there was much good-natured arguing over the root of their nicknames.

Barbeques, swimming and boating on the lake, family reunion, and lots of time with dogs that we knew wouldn't give Tiffany rabies... We couldn't ask for a better way to return home!

From Chicago we fly to the San Francisco Bay Area, where we will settle in for the forseeable future! Wow, what a strange thought. We are going to try and post a "Tiff and Zach's Travel Favorites" blog entry to summarize some of our highlights from the past three years, but after that we're not sure if the blog has any future (ie. "today we found the neighborhood Whole Foods, yippee!") in America.

Well, if not, it has sure been a great ride, and thanks to all our loyal and faithful readers. You have inspired us to keep the blog going these past three years, to always carry a camera to catch any chance encounters with hanging underwear and other humorous cultural idiosyncrasies, and to force us to reflect upon the highs and lows, the absurdities and frustrations, and more than anything, the immeasurable value of our experiences.

This rollercoaster may be over, but there are other rides...