Six Months Later

I have been away from home, and thus out of the US, for exactly six months today.
Apart from the whole does-it-feel-like-longer-or-shorter conundrum, this had made me think a bit. More specifically, it has made me think about how my perspective might have changed in that time.
Basically, a few weeks ago I was comparing something in New Zealand to America (as I often do), and a friend stopped me and asked “but couldn’t your perspective be messed up because you’ve been away for so long?” I answered hurriedly (perhaps a bit too hurriedly), “no, absolutely not.”
But then I went to Auckland last weekend. The first thing I noticed was just the slightest hint of humidity in the air. I was instantly worried. Wellington, for the record, doesn’t really get humid at all, probably because it’s always windy or something. And I knew in the back of my head that this really wasn’t humid at all. Not even registering on the humidity scale compared to summers in New York or any time in Hong Kong. But I noticed it anyway. When I mentioned it to Tams, she said “and did you notice how there are SO MANY PEOPLE?” Auckland is by far the biggest city in New Zealand, with a third of the country’s population living in the Auckland area. (Or at least I heard something along those lines once, and so am going to repeat it here.) I thought about this for about a nanosecond, and realized that I had thought that. Uh oh. I had gotten off the bus and the streets had seemed rather crowded. And busy. New Zealand has fewer people in the entire country that New York City does in its five boroughs. I was starting to get seriously scared.
So obviously, my perspective has changed in some ways. I’ve gotten used to different weather and having fewer people around. That’s not too surprising when you think about it, but it made me wonder if it had changed my outlook on other things. Can I really comment anymore on the prevalence of beets in America versus in New Zealand? What if I just can’t remember? Worrying stuff. Add to that the fact that I haven’t actually been in America since the financial crisis truly started or Obama was elected, and I suddenly start to feel very out of touch with American culture. A couple of weeks ago everybody on twitter started talking about a press conference Obama was giving. People never actually watched and listened to these things when I lived in America! Maybe things really have changed!
Honestly, I know I’m not that out of touch. I can remember what I normally eat at home, what the weather is like and what it feels like to be squished into a subway car with a hundred other people. I read enough American blogs and have enough contacts with America that I have some idea what the atmosphere is like over there at the moment, but I guess I can never be sure until I get home.
Which will be actually quite soon. Six months down, two to go!
(Picture: A view of Auckland from some hill lookout thing. Notice it is not actually that massive.)