A difference

Walking through Killian Court, staring at the dome, gives me a sense of awe...  Wow, I am at MIT, this place of legends.

But then I remember the other Cambridge: dining in Trinity Hall, climbing St. John's tower, studying in Caius Library... An immense sense of grandeur, this place of incomparable history.  

the last time I went to Island Hopper

it was just southeast asian fusion food to me.

this time, I have eaten every staple dish on the menu in its native country: China+Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam.

=)
 

it's the little things

that remind me I'm back in the States after 15 months:

getting in the left side of the car, looking right when crossing the street (the obvious ones)

thinking the 0.25 currency denomination is weird and not useful (seriously what other country uses 0.25 over 0.50 coins?)

no longer feeling a natural behavior to tip in restaurants -- rather, an obligation, because this is America

forgetting to throw away my own food at fast food restaurants (oops)

queueing up

meeting at X:00 and waiting around as people arrive ~X:10

seeing a Visit Vermont tourism sign, and for a split second, thinking 1) Vermont is a country 2) "whoa how did Vermont get an advertisement here" ......then realizing, "oh wait, Vermont is a state in the US. and I'm in the US. fail."