Commercials

Commercials. I still haven't gotten used to those funny things. And now they're putting them before some YouTube videos! Not to mention they interrupt my Hulu time and are before movies you go see at the theater. You just can't escape their omnipresence.

Overseas our commercials were not like anything here stateside. We had "Guess the Capitol" for different states and countries, who you could go to if you felt depressed, what you had to do if you were going to marry a local national, and that sexual harassment is how the receiver perceives it. Now I understand that these probably seem strange to those of you who have never seen them, and I'll be the first to admit that they kind of are. When we were living on the island, we had a commercial that reminded you to pick up after your dog when you went on a walk! Definitely not something that would be on TV in the US.

Here are some AFN commercials so that you can get a better feel for what I'm talking about:

Eat Breakfast

I get all my legal advice from Greek gods

Marrying a Local National?

Family Housing

But come on, commercials here? Ridiculous! Now I think that some of them are pretty funny, but they're the minority. I could definitely live without seeing another infomercial, sympathy commercial - you know the ones, with the humane society, African children, Operation Smile and some heartfelt music - or commercial saying how Product A is better than their competitor.

Like this one:

No. Just no. I see what you're trying to do, but it doesn't make me want to buy your insurance.

However, these commercials make me giggle every time they come on.

Aziz is from Columbia, which does make this commercial better. It's also how I sometimes feel when I kayak with my dad.

Mayhem

American Stuffers

Did you know that you can taxidermy your pet? And that there is a reality TV show about a shop that does it? I didn't either until today! It was oddly mesmerizing; I watched two episodes back to back. One of the story lines they followed was of Titi, a tiny little dog. Her owners let her outside to play and a hawk got her when it thought she was a squirrel. The parents wanted Titi stuffed because their little four year old didn't understand death yet. Other owners just can't bear to part with the animal that has meant so much to them for so long, whether it be a dog, cat, alligator, bird, or iguana.

While I'd never heard of pet taxidermy, I have heard of it as part of interior decoration. Or that's what someone told me when I asked them why they had a goose and a deer head mounted in their living room. And I guess growing up I had first hand experience with this concept - we had Pierre in our home. He was a standing Canadian goose that I think my dad shot when he was living in Texas. I guess he was proud of it? Wanted to keep it to show to us kids later on? I just remember that our dog didn't like it much and would occasionally try to move it when he thought we weren't looking. I can't even imagine what he would have done if instead of a stuffed goose we'd had a previous pet!

I've been back how long?

I just found this post I never published, from back in October. Oops!

It's been hitting me like a ton of bricks recently; I've been back stateside for 16 months. I’m a year and a half into college. When did that happen? Some days I must admit, I feel like this is my home and I’ve been here forever. Like when I was talking with a friend and said "all ya'll," (that's for a whole bunch of people) or I wore shorts in mid-November because I remembered to not trade out all of my summer clothes last time I saw my family (I'm finally understanding funky Columbia weather!). See Spring Weather during Winter? if you need further proof of the craziness.

Other days I get that culture slap and with it the realization that I’m in a new place that will probably never be homey. I mean I really still don’t understand the allure of big belt buckles, or the constant need to fry things, or how huge trucks have sex appeal. But I'm okay with that. My perspective on things is based off of the places I've lived and visited, and even though that amplifies the differences here at times, I wouldn’t change anything. I love that I can look at life here through the lens of other cultures that I’ve experienced; and that one day I’ll be doing that in another place with my time here!

I’m still learning the ways of the South, so here’s to continued education!

I think that I've adapted to some other things a little too well though...but that's another topic.

I guess I'm more of a Porsche type girl? Or a hybrid?

Road Trip: Round 1

this past weekend I went on a mini road trip to visit my grandparents!!

As I've told friends this during the week I can read what they're thinking all over their face. To summarize it, their faces have been saying, "Sydnie, two hours? Why are you so excited for a two hour drive?"

Well it's monumental that I visited them because that means I got there and back in one piece!

Again, I've told people this and their faces says, "Are you really that bad of a driver?! I will not be getting in a car with you in the driver's seat!"

They don't really comprehend my excitement and the level of accomplishment I feel. Where most of my friends have been driving since they were 16 (or some even younger - scary! That means my little sister will be soon!), I just got my license 9 months ago. Yes, I was 19 when I got my driver's license. But do not judge. At 16 I was living in Germany, where you cannot legally drive until you are 18 and have gone through their expensive Fahrschule. I may have gone out and practiced driving with my dad a handful of Sundays, and that may have stopped when I almost reversed us off of a cliff/hill. I promise that I'm a better driver now. They gave me a liscense didn't they?

Then I turned 18 and it didn't makes sense to go through the hassle aka cost of Fahrschule since I was coming back to the US in a matter of months! Well I graduated high school, we moved back to the states, I had my permit, and my parents dropped me off at college. No time to learn how to really drive that summer, let alone become a good enough driver to pass the test! So then last summer rolled around and my mom got tired of driving me to and from my internship. I mean I just saw it as quality time together, but I guess she doesn't like her quality time before 7am?

So my driving experience is limited, and my driving experience alone has been even more limited. But I just got another notch in my belt for this past trip! And more road trips are definitely in my future. :)

This is when I had my permit and got to park the car -thanks Mom! Probably not going to sell me as the best driver/park-er, but I just have to add that while doing this I had someone loudly talking (otherwise known as a freaking out) in my ear not to get too close to the curb.

You cannot say that I was going to hit the curb. Doesn't this demonstrate that I am excellent at following directions?

Update: I have made many more road trips and survived them all :) I even drove 11 hours in the span of 3 days. I know, I'm moving on up in the world! A world that could be considered that of a 16 year old American. But still.