Wow, it seems like it’s been forever since our last posting; but our first trip of 2018 is here! We arrived to the good ‘ole U.S. of A to visit for two short weeks and man how we knew time would fly by. Seeing familiar faces, going to our favorite places, and chowing our most missed foods were what we planned to do while we were there. Greeted by family and friends, the first thing we did was enjoy some Mexican food at one of our go to spots. Despite being completely exhausted (by the time we finished our meal we’d been up for 23 hours), it was everything we’d been dreaming of. After getting some sleep, we went to what was possibly the most American breakfast joint in the state of Arkansas for brunch. Country music, biscuits and gravy, and mounted deer heads? We definitely weren’t in Switzerland anymore!

We had our lists; our lists of people we want to see, places we want to go, foods we want to eat. We also had a solid list of things we planned to buy while we were in the States to bring back with us. Things like toothpaste and deodorant just aren’t the same. Clothing, miscellaneous toiletries, and electronics are all things that are significantly cheaper there. And you best believe we’ll be travelling back with some peanut butter and ranch!

Luckily Andrew’s family lent us a vehicle, however getting around town without one would have been significantly more difficult than it is in Switzerland. Sure, we had friends and family to chauffeur us, but if we hadn’t… we’d be racking up some hefty expenses with Uber! We’d never realized the lack of public transport in the area before now. The abundance of sidewalks in Lausanne seems to be different than the States as well. With no sidewalk in sight, we had our choice of walking on the edge of a busy street or going down a grassy hill to get groceries.

It was refreshing to hear people speaking English! Whenever we hear English abroad we immediately perk up. Even though they may be a complete stranger, we instantly feel closer to them and have the urge to chat it up. One of the things that we enjoy about the States, and that we spent time doing at the airport on our way there even, is striking conversations with people you don’t know. Probably due to the communication barrier but that rarely happens while we are in Switzerland. We will continue to try but you can’t assume that someone understands what you’re trying to say, much less WANTS to understand what you’re trying to say. Eventually our French will be conversational, but for now, mostly silent with strangers.

Being back with everyone, two things had to happen: Sunday brunch and game nights. We definitely made it happen too! Brunch consisted of homemade waffles, breakfast sandwiches, and bacon… bacon is another thing that just isn’t the same in Switzerland. Whereas game night consisted of brews, disputing of rules (mostly Andrew being ridiculous), and some hilarious banter. Between all of the fun things we were doing and all the fun people we spent time with, our trip flew by.

One of the obvious downsides to living abroad is missing out on some of life’s important moments in our friends and loved one’s lives. Hopping on a plane for every celebration just isn’t feasible. This time, we were fortunate enough to be in town for our good friends Cable and Emily’s gender reveal for their first baby. We also made it to the 2nd birthday celebration our favorite little human, Blake! We feel even more at home when we get to share those moments and are thrilled that we could take part in those times. Almost a year has passed but not much has changed back home. A few new hip places to pop around to and different things going on in our friends and families lives. Other than that, it felt like we had never left. We’re thankful for having such great friends to let us stay with them and will be looking forward to the next time we see all of your warm faces!