It's the little things

Prohibition

One of the things that we’ve definitely been startled by is the casual presence of alcohol everywhere. Licenses are so tightly controlled in Mass. that we’re not used to having beer at the movie theater, or bottles of wine for purchase at Target, or hard liquor in grocery stores. Massachusetts may be relaxing a lot of the blue laws finally, but it’s still not common to have alcohol so easily accessible everywhere you go.

Arthur was mostly adapted to it, but then there was someone not only giving out free samples of vodka in the middle of the grocery store, but actively calling people over. It was definitely unexpected to have someone call me over – twice – to offer me free vodka. Totally threw us for a loop.

Absolutely a “we’re not in Boston, Toto” moment.

The Hills are Alive... Wait; Where are the Hills?

I’m still also adjusting to the flatness. If I don’t pay attention, it’s becoming easier to ignore on a day-to-day basis. There are enough small hills and trees around Ann Arbor to make the town itself not completely flat. Gentle contours.

But when I look up at the sky, or towards the horizon – then it hits home and I freak out a little bit. There is nothing on the horizon. It just keeps going, all flat. Very flat, stretching on and on. I know that those of you from the west coast scoff at what we New Englanders call “mountains,” but they’re still there. Green Mountains, White Mountains, Berkshire Hills, Blue Hills… they’re all there. In the distance. Lending shape and personality to the land. Comfort. Shelter.

I can’t imagine being in a true Great Plains state. That must be pure terror.

Don't worry, I'm not bleaching my hair

The advantage to being in such a large college town is that there’s a lot less of a cultural change than moving this distance would generally entail. So it’s the small things, like wine being available everywhere, or the geography, that stand out.

Interestingly, given that we’re in grad student housing, the differences in culture are international, not Midwest v. New England. A wealth of languages and experiences around us from all over the world. It’s pretty cool. AND it means there’s always something fun and different at the grocery store.

Although it’s internationally diverse in our housing community, when I find myself on the central campus, I notice it’s a lot more blond(e) than I’m used to. There was one point where I was the only white person on the shuttle without blonde hair. That was unexpected. Again – it’s the small details. The combination of dominant immigrants in Michigan versus the dominant immigrants in Boston that makes the people around me subtly different.

Typical adjustment period

Of course, we’re also still trying to learn the local equivalents to our usual brands of groceries and other household products. Still can’t find soda sweetened with Splenda. Only one place carries pints of plain soygurt and the recycled TP we use (and they’re REALLY expensive). If we drive home for Christmas, we’re totally loading up the trunk with all our favorites.

Other oddities include license plates only being on the back of the car. The front of our car looks... less than attractive now that we've wrestled the old plate off and there's nothing to replace it with.

Thankfully we’re not yet in the zone for a Piggly Wiggly, because I’ve never been able to take it seriously!


All that being said, I've been feeling a bit homesick as my flight home approaches.