Counting our blessings!

I don't know what it is, but when I travel I take more time to reflect in all aspects of life, Ed and I have more in-depth conversations and we also reminisce on the memories during different times of our lives. Sixty plus years old is a lot of years and I honestly don't want to keep counting. In my heart I don't feel that old, but my body is shrinking and my skin is sagging and there is no going back. I have always said I lost 10 years of my life, as some years of my childhood and part of my teenage years are not in my memory bank. Can I exclude them? 

With that said, I have to count my blessings which are many and I need to express my gratitude more often. I see how people live here and they are happy with less. Not everybody has a car, perhaps they don't need it, not everyone has a clothes dryer, that I can't live without. We washed some clothes in our flat's washing machine, an experience in itself, old machine and it took about 2 hours for a small load and it has taken more than two days to dry. We are lucky with this apartment as it has all the minor necessities, but many don't have a full size refrigerator. Electricity appears to be very expensive We plugged in the hair dryer the other day and the power went off. We contacted the owner and she said to disconnect one of the heaters to plug in the hair dryer. Yes, no central heating, people use portable heaters. We noticed that the streets lights in old town are on a sensor....if a car drives by or a person walks by the lights turn on. Not a bad idea. Nothing wrong living in an apartment, if this is all you have experienced, may be acceptable and even satisfactory. 

                    

But we have the luxury to live in beautiful homes, with more space than we need and with all the comforts, and more. America is a great place!!! Europeans know and they love the American lifestyle.

Now, let me talk about idiosyncrasies of life:

Train Services: fabulous, top of the line!  

Postal Services: we went to the office to mail some postcards, waiting in line about 20 minutes and the postal workers were rude. I guess government workers always feel they have an upper hand anywhere. 

Tram services: excellent, you better have the exact change. 

Waiters and waitresses: so far so good, can't complain, similar standards. 

No cable services: still using the roof-top antenna to get the TV channels, check the roof tops.

Graffiti is everywhere: old town, midtown. I am sure there are chic and fancy neighborhoods. We were going there today but there is heavy rain in the forecast, so we decided to spend the day at home. 

The supermarkets are very small, even the large ones. The product selection is limited, but the prices are much lower than the states.

The pharmacies are like they used to be 20 or plus years ago. Nice with counters in U-shape to serve the public, even the non-prescription items are behind the counter. 

Not everybody has an iPhone, not everyone is on the phone at all times, people are actually talking to each other in the coffee shops.

                     

Well these comparisons simply bring me awareness of what we have and how lucky we are!

I am not saying that their life is bad, I am simply reminded that we are fortunate. While we are here, we are embracing their style and like it says, "While in Rome do like the Romans do."