Rambling Rosa: October 2011

This summer, I was lucky enough to get a two-month Russian reprieve. I was mostly back in the U.S., visiting friends and family and going to weddings. It was wonderful. It also marked the first time I took an eastward path home. After a three-day stop in Hong Kong, I flew into the U.S. via Los Angeles. I actually realized along the way that I had officially travelled around the world between June and August. I left D.C. in June, made stops in Russia and Hong Kong, landed in Los Angeles and then ultimately reached D.C. again at the beginning of August. It felt like an accidental around-the-world trip. Next time I cover so many miles, I’m planning ahead and making more stops!

The stopover in Hong Kong was just for fun and broke up the long trip a bit. It was my first time in an Asian city and it was all I hoped it would be. I think I ate 4 meals a day because the food was so good. But entering the U.S. by way of L.A. was a problem, having come from Moscow, L.A. is like the anti-Russia. It is everything that Russia is not: warm and beautiful, friendly, on the ocean, laid back atmosphere. The only things the two cities have in common, as far as I can tell, are sprawl and traffic. Let me start by explaining what it is like to reenter the U.S. anywhere. Then I’ll throw in the extra special shock that comes with an L.A reentry.

Return to the States is always overwhelming for a few days. Even the smallest things are exciting. On reentry you always buy a lot of unnecessary things and eat so much healthy food that it becomes unhealthy by the sheer amount of food being consumed. The first stop I often make when reentering is the supermarket. Grocery shopping in Moscow is painful. Yes, there are now all kinds of gourmet shops but selection is limited and everything non-Russian is extremely overpriced. How I miss food shopping in America. I will never again complain about a small, poorly stocked grocery store in the U.S. After Russia they are paradise to me. Whole Foods is amazing no matter where you live. But after shopping in Russia, Whole Foods seems like some Willy Wonka wonderland. I spent at least 20 minutes in the produce section just staring at all the vegetables. There were some I didn’t even recognize. That was blissful. I will never take Bok Choy for granted again.

After Whole Foods it is usually off to Target. Do you know how many types of laundry detergent we have in America? Before Russia I never noticed that on average each brand of detergent offers 5 different scents. That’s not even accounting for all the other options: “color safe” and “with or without bleach.” And so many brands! Tide, or All, or the generic store brand…. In the first ten minutes in Target I had two pairs of shoes, three dresses, Doritos, a purse, a book and a bag of popcorn from the Target concessions area, all happily crowding my cart. You would have thought I had won a shopping spree and had to get everything I wanted in the cart in 10 minutes. (In my defense I really don’t ever shop in Moscow. There is very little in the way of mid-range shopping for clothing. Stores like Banana Republic or Gap or cute boutiques don’t exist. Zara and Mango are our only real options. After that our only choices are designer goods – and already overpriced clothing still manages to be even more marked up in Moscow. So there is no point. Forgive my excitement at Target.)

On my first reentry in the U.S., in the winter of 2010, I arrived in Florida to visit my brother and sister-in-law. I made my whole family meet me in Florida because I refused to go to Ohio in January. (Why escape cold by going to cold?). Before everyone arrived I borrowed my brother’s car and figured out where the shopping was. I was thirsty for sales signs on the racks. I beelined for T.J. Max (don’t judge me). I spent about two hours there and had a cart so filled I was embarrassed. As I marched up to the check-out counter I felt I had to explain why I was buying so much. I needed to convince the woman working there that I never normally do this. In my Midwestern haste to look frugal, I rambled on about how my husband had moved me to Russia. It was cold and I hadn’t bought a thing in months. Instead of thinking I was crazy -- as she should have -- she looked at me and said, “Your husband moved you to Russia! You poor thing! I hate the Russians. My husband ran off with the Russian shampoo girl at the salon! I’m giving you 10 percent off of everything. You must have it so terrible.” (Thanks for that, Russia.)

Back to my L.A. reentry. I did all the things mentioned above – followed by lunch at the beach. Salads, wraps and smoothies were everywhere. These three items are rarities in Moscow. Not to mention marijuana. Pot stores were everywhere in Venice Beach -- you can’t get much more un-Russian than that. I had forgotten how truly anything can be purchased somewhere in the United States. I ate salad twice a day for a week while in L.A. Big, leafy salads. Nope, can’t eat that in Moscow. So I over-appreciated salad. The lack of smoking and pollution in the air – yes, L.A. has a lack of pollution compared to Moscow -- put my body into happy shock. My poor lungs had forgotten that they didn’t need to work so hard. Breathing, biking on the beach and eating sushi were a joy. Servers were friendly at restaurants. Changes to my order, substitutions from the menu, were suddenly allowed again. You could buy something in a store and someone helped you. They even smiled. Somehow, during reentry, I feel like I am communing with my late great grandparents who arrived in America from Italy and Lebanon. For a day or two, I’m the immigrant in the foreign land, seeing amazing things for the first time. It’s always a happy blur. I walk around in amazement of everything. Public restrooms that don’t require a fee. Discounts. Smiles. Did you know Triscuits come in multiple flavors nowadays? America.