More about Glad/Sad

As I sit here and enjoy a nice colorful, fruity stripped candy cane...from last year...(yes it's a bit stale, but it's not stopping me) the thing on my mind is Importing. I have lived in Switzerland for 7 years and 2 months (WOW) and over the course of that time have taken 17 trips to America (putting that number down makes me realize how blessed I am). When i first moved here, airlines were a lot 'friendlier', you were allowed two FREE luggages for an international flight. It was perfect. Just enough space for clothes, and american goodies. They have now limited it to one free luggage for international flights. It's doo-able, but for my 'american cravings' it was a hard hit when they changed that. As most people know, things in america are A LOT cheaper than here. We would normally save all our clothes shopping for  the USA (which was necessary anyways as it's hard to find clothes ('less expensive') that even fit Will here), and of course we had to bring back candy canes that last a year, Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce, Peanut butter, and other sweets and treats that we can't get here! What am i getting at.....I"m glad importing all the things we 'needed' will no longer be a stress of ours. I did however get pretty creative at packing over the years and am glad to have had this experience! It also taught us moderation, which i'm hoping is a trait we carry back to America with us, when all we 'need' is in surplus around us!

The thing we are SAD about, is going to be a BIG shock and adjustment for us. Water....water.....water...water.....and water fountains! The water here is amazing. This one is ripe on our mind today. Will had just gone for a run and I met up with him at the Chocolate factory (he ran there, 7 miles and therefore deserved more chocolate than me). We were both so thirty and finished the water in our bottle in no time and were in need of more water, we stopped by a local grocery store and bought a bottle and to our dismay it tasted yucky! The water straight from the fountains, and taps here is so fresh, so cold, so good and beats any water from any bottle! The fountains are every where that flow with refreshing water, you can even find them on hikes in what seems like the middle of no where. And if you can't find a fountain, just head for a bathroom, yup the water right from the sink tastes GREAT! We will miss the fountains and the yummy flowing water that flows from them, as well as how cool they usually look!