Quelling USA jealousy

Logan has been in the States for over a week for meetings.  The fact that HE has access to fountain soda, Costco & Chipotle has been making me crazy jealous.  

While I can't honestly say I've succeeded in not being hostile, in attempt to minimize the envy, the kids & I brainstormed "things we can do here but NOT in the USA":


Speak Russian: Xavier identified this as a unique asset of living here.  Здравствуйте, хотели бы вы пиво?  While being surrounded by Cyrillic may not be your idea of a good time, it's a bit of a treat to talk about people without them knowing.


Go to Dreamtown: A giant water park on the 3rd floor of a mall.  YES - suspended 2 floors above solid ground!  

I suspect safety concerns prevents such places from existing at home - but the kids LOVE it.

Park on the sidewalk: OH so liberating!  

WAY easier to find a spot when you have all the sidewalks to include in the search.

Produce on every corner: Outside every Metro stop, inside the Metro, on any street corner, they are there.  Fruit & veg 'babushkas' are never very far making shopping a breeze. 

(Please don't point out it's all root veggies + apples.  This is all about celebrating what we have - NOT crying about how we miss fresh berries outside of July!)

Caffeine all the time: It seems any moment is a good moment for coffee or tea.  While I have been served a hot beverage at a salon before - never while waiting for someone else to get a haircut!

(what I was served while waiting for Xavier's haircut)

Free pets!:  That's a marketing spin on 'stray animals'.  We (mostly) love ours.....

Low price services: Thanks to our aforementioned free pet, we needed someone to clean our rug.  Star Dry Cleaner to the rescue.....they picked up, chemically treated & returned a now smell free rug - all for ~$30!  

Not a cat person, how about a handyman?  5 hours of fixing & drilling into our crazy thick concrete walls set us back ~$35.  The only risk with all this is how lazy we are becoming.


Grocery Store Rewards: I remember in the 70's when we licked stamps into booklets & exchanged them for bed sheets (brown & white with safari animals).  We get to experience that joy again today!!!!

Just turned in a booklet for 2 pans @ 1/2 off today!

So while I admit to some serious USA jealousy pangs, Crosby, Stills & Nash summed it up best....."If you can't have the one you love, love the one you are with"

Here's to focusing on the fabulous!