"When overseas you learn more about your own country than you do the place you're visiting." -- Clint Borgen

 For perspective, Clint Borgen runs The Borgen Project -- an organization to bring US political attention to global poverty. I just liked the quote, but you can find out more at borgenproject.org

The photo shows three things in our new temporary Canadian home that we have not seen in a year. They are...

1) Dawn dish detergent. It is one of the most effective grease/oil dispersants known. It is used for cleaning oil-drenched wildlife (odd, because it is partly oil-based). It is very similar to the Corexit dumped in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP oil spill to break up the oil and sink it. While very gentle on skin and effective as a cleaner, it kinda stays around. It's not allowed to be put directly into Florida water, though its sale for home use is okay. It also isn't allowed in the EU or the UK for environmental reasons.

My question is: do you want clean dishes or not? After a year of hand-washing dishes with other products, I was never sure if they were really clean. The French products came the closest. Of course no one wants to intentionally harm our environment. But I have to question whether using more water and electricity/gas to reach the same result is more effective in the long term. Books have been written on the subject by folks far more knowledgeable than me. But for now I am going to enjoy having squeaky-clean shit in this kitchen.

2) A window screen. While mosquitoes and flies can be An Issue in this part of the world (I hear they are legendary in Alaska), they are not the same problem as in the South. We are used to and grateful for screens, which didn't seem to exist in the EU. While not in the hordes we know, bugs could just fly in an open window and settle. A screen can solve this, but it seemed an intentionally ignored option.

3) Venetian blinds. They are certainly available in the EU/UK but we never saw them used. It was always drapes/curtains or what we know in the US as hurricane shutters. Or those electric shutters that just seal off everything. It's nice here to return to the various options of open or closed, up or down or someplace in between. Whatever. Been a few minutes.

I'm grateful to be in Canada for a number of reasons, the first of which is I think it's a very good transition point back to the US. Our being here is by design because there is so much that is like what we have left and yet so much like where we are going. Grocerying sees EU brands like Persil and Dr. Oetker but also the full Old El Paso line and actual Fritos, We can go to Wal-Mart, Denny's or Red Robin if we want.

(An aside here. We could easily find McDonalds, KFC, Five Guys and Burger King in the EU/UK. Americanization isn't the issue. It's how things fit into the local landscape. Most do a poor job. But apparently no one cares).

Our return to the US means a return to gun culture and all we can do is throw up our hands and put up with it. We can vote against it (as long as a vote actually counts anymore) but it's simply a daily fact. It is not a fact in the UK/EU and it is not a fact in Canada. Certainly stuff can and does happen anywhere, but outside the US I am not worried about some yahoo with a firearm. Believe me when I say I am savoring every minute of time I don't have to think about it.

A word about weed, which is entirely legal here in Canada. I am not a user but I know so many helped daily by open access to CBD and THC. The US has a hodgepodge of state approval/disapproval while the EU/UK are generally unfriendly. I find those approaches generally and willfully ignorant -- in the US particularly as a nod to Big Pharma. It's basically Prohibition with similar results. Stop it.

Don't get me started on the weather. Jesus.

Gone for now are the days of affordable but excellent champagne/rum/pastis (depending on our location at the time), the daily local butcher/fish monger. Just-baked croissants and baguettes will anymore be done by me and not something I can simply walk to get. Goods from an actual patisserie will be, well, one of the primary reasons to go back.

Cuban cigars are another reason.

The main thing I like about being in Canada for now is that I can be a part of and contribute directly at least for a little while to a place so welcoming. I could do a long list of the cultures actively supported. I guess as close as it gets to the US July 4th thing here is Canada Day upcoming on July 1st. While we are sorry to miss Bastille Day in France (July 14th), I am just as happy to be here in Victoria for the same kind of celebration.

I already have a small French tricolor for posting wherever I am. I will find a Maple Leaf flag for the same reason. I could happily live either place because of the people, culture and general attitude.

...making return to the US difficult. But it's eased by knowing the day-to-day. It's a series of small things. While there's no universal healthcare and wages are held artificially low, at least I can go to a store and add $20 in cash when I get groceries on a card. "Your total is $54. Do you want cash back?" It's a convenience we haven't had in a year.

The idea of buying/having a car is anymore A Major Issue. But it's just another fact of what Steve Miller sang about Living In The USA.

",,,,somebody get me a cheeseburger!"