Back in the states

I'm back in the states for a few weeks to catch up with friends and visit Paul.

After being in Australia for over a year there area few American things that seem foreign to me.

1. Automatic flushing toilets. Sure, you only really encounter them in the airport, but still. The prevalence of dual flush toilets (giving you the option to use less water if you see fit) means that toilets don't automatically assume that you want to flush. What a fun change.

2. Paper towels are huge. Ok, many things are huger here than in Oz (SUVs anyone? And to quote a long favorite traveler: "In the US I'm over 5 feet, here I'm less than 2 meters"). But I had forgotten that US paper towels routinely come about 4 inches wider than Australian ones do.

3. Airport security is more of a burden. I swear when I left you didn't have to take your shoes off at every check point in every airport. Australia's check points hearken back to a day pre-9/11 when really all you needed to do was take out your laptop. In SF, I was treated like an imbecile when I forgot to remove my shoes. And I thought I was doing so well remembering not to pack any liquids or gels.

Otherwise, driving on the right seems ok, not too foreign, and I've stopped wanting to ask people where they're from every time I hear an American accent across the room.