Culture Shock

So far everyone we’ve encountered in Boston has been very nice. Except when driving. Bostonians get behind the wheel and instantly metamorphose into insane people. But in person, they are quite friendly and they talk a lot, a mile a minute, leaving me standing mute, dumbfounded, staring at them like I’m an idiot.

One of the first nurses I met – after a few minutes of one-sided conversation, gave me a funny look and said, “You’re not from around here, are you?” And then without waiting for a reply, gave me a rapid-fire rundown of everywhere she and her entire family has ever lived or visited.

I am familiar with fast talking Californians. But Californians don’t say so much at once. Here’s my take on west coast vs New Mexican vs east coast speech patterns:

West Coast: Blah. Blah. Blah.

New Mexican: Blaaah…blaaah…Spanish-blaaah…blaaah.

East Coast: Blah!Blah!!Blah!Blah!Blah!!!Blah!Blah!Blah!!Blah!Blah!Blah!

And then there’s the weather. I overheard John call it “sleet with accumulating slush”. The locals call it “wintery mix”, as if it’s a potpourri scent.

We’re working to set up an apartment in Emily’s basement. We’ve ventured out several times to discount stores, and every day we also get several Amazon packages. Today Amazon brought us hardware to put up doors across the entryway to the den, a shower bench, a portable desktop file to keep our paperwork in order, and coasters.

You’re wondering why coasters. I have cancer and I’m ordering coasters. The story is, we bought a small wooden table at IKEA, which we’re using as both a desk and a dining room table. It’s a cute table and we don’t want to mar it with coffee rings. Hence, coasters.

Yesterday I ordered a pretty talavera platter – for absolutely no reason at all other than it was 50% off and it looked New Mexican and I’m homesick.

Then today, after I ordered this platter, I realized my sister already had the matching bowl, sitting out in her living room! I must have seen it earlier, and my subconscious must of remembered it when I saw the platter online. So now she has a matching set!

This is the thing with cancer – life is still fun and funny, and life goes on. In between medical procedures there’s all the rest of it. Ordering pancake mix and figuring out how to use the thermostat on the new space heater.

John found a jar of “green chile enchilada sauce” in the local grocery store, read the ingredients and realized it was tomatillo sauce – not a single green chile in it. We also like tomatillos, but they aren’t green chiles.

Amazon’s Whole Foods Market Free 2-hour delivery is my new favorite grocery store, where I actually found real Hatch green chile in a glass jar (instead of the mild dark green bits in a tin can, found up high on a remote shelf in most US grocery stores).

I miss zipping around the wide, empty, bright dry roads of Albuquerque in my old Mini Cooper, heading down to my local, affordable Sprouts Market in Albuquerque. But every day we’re here, we get more settled.

It turns out my tea kettle, that I was laughing at myself for bringing with me all the way from Albuquerque, wasn’t such a bad idea after all. I’m using it every day. Although it’s just a tiny blip in the avalanche of things we are buying. Emily has a partial kitchenette in the basement laundry room next to the large den she’s also set aside for our use. Getting it all set up has been fun and a lot of work.

I’ll post more about transforming her basement soon.