Comparisons

It's been six months since we moved back to the states. A very short six months. In that time, I have often thought of how different Sacramento is from St. Thomas. But I've rarely posted about it. Sorry! Here are just a few things.

Celebrities. I met Bill Clinton a few weeks ago. At a Hillary Clinton campaign office opening. That would never happen in the VI since people who live there can't vote. I won't even get started with that whole issue because then I would never get around to listing any other comparisons... Howard Dean came to St Thomas once while I was there, and of course, the famous basketball player from St Croix would show up every so often. (what was his name again?) On a somewhat related note, I don't recall seeing any magazines with celebrity photos plastered on the fronts in the VI. (Gaylin, please correct me if I'm wrong..) Here there are countless magazines with facts and first names, and I don't know who these people are. Going two years with no tv and no mainstream news source other than cnn.com or nytimes.com is not the way to keep up with pop culture.

Pharmacies. On St Thomas, when you fill a prescription, they don't ask if you want to ask the pharmacist any questions - they just tell you to sign the waiver saying that you don't want a pharmacist consultation. At the pharmacy here, you can get a consult on vitamins, with a smile.

Friendliness. People in the service industry in Sacramento are so, so friendly. The first few times we went to the grocery store we were greeting so many times I thought I had lost my mind and that these people actually knew me. No. just friendly. They also like to chitchat here, commenting on whatever items we're buying, asking what we're cooking.

Politeness. People on St Thomas are very polite. A "Good morning" or "Good afternoon" is absolutely required before speaking to anyone and is almost always used when one enters a room. Otherwise, people get angry. Once I was sitting at the seaplane, reading a book, waiting for my turn to walk down the dock and hop on the floating plane. I heard a guy say "Good morning" but I didn't look up. A few seconds later he repeated it much louder and with a surly tone. (like how a motivational speaker might say good morning a second time to a quiet crowd, but less cheerful.) Everyone responded in unison, apologetically. Here, there is no eye contact in the elevator. Most people don't respond to my "good morning," but I think I'm over the surly stage, and I'm on to acceptance.

News. Anything that happens in the VI ends up in the news. (Unless it's something that is.... being handled.) A year ago today, Dave was on the front page of the newspaper for winning a swim race. Here, many things happen that are not deemed newsworthy. I hear and see rallies all the time near the state capitol building by my office. They're never in the news so I have to go over there to see if anyone cool is speaking. So far my most exciting experience was thinking I could hear the Governator's voice, but I was wrong...it actually turned out to be a breast cancer awareness rally and I got a free pink shirt.

Tshirts. The 5ks here give out tshirts. Not so much on St Thomas. But on St Thomas the races are all about $5 and you sign up about 10 minutes before the race. Here you sign up online months ahead of time and you get a discount of $5 off.

Running clothes. I used to run in a mesh tank top and running shorts at 6am year round at the beach. Maybe 3 times a year, I would wish I had a t-shirt on instead, because it got down to the low 70s and it was chilly. When I go jogging here, I wear at least 4 layers on top, 2 on bottom, wear thick hiking socks, ear warmers, a beanie, leather gloves, and a scarf. I look like the little kid in Christmas Story who has to go to the bathroom.

Driving. Oh. My. I thought driving on St Thomas was a little crazy. Narrow, windy, hilly roads; some steep drop-offs with no guardrails; etc. But the people in Sacramento drive like maniacs. We almost never drove at night on St Thomas, except home from work. So now I'm driving at night (because the sun sets so early!) and there are multiple lanes, AND people are driving at least 60mph all around me. It is scary. I can't get used to having so many cars in so many lanes. If only the lanes didn't end on the way to my exit for work, then I could stay in the slow lane the whole way.

Drinking. On St Thomas you can take advantage of the 2 for 1 happy hour drinks even if you only want one drink. Get the other To Go and carry that pina colada in your left hand while you drive home if you want. Go ahead and take a sip. No worries. (But you can't be drunk! Otherwise, you might get pulled over and the cop might tell you to find another way home.) I think everyone knows the rules here in the states.

Sunlight. The sun is shining warmth on the island by about 6:00 am on average year round (it varies maybe from 5:30 to 6:30). The sun might be shining here at 7:00 but it sure isn't warm. I look outside and get fooled all the time.

Events. I used to read the VI Daily News regularly to find out what was happening - what "national" sports teams were having try-outs, when I could next come in last place in a foot race, etc. It had pretty decent coverage. I used to try to do or go to all the events that sounded interesting. I bought a paper during our first week in Sacramento with plans to do the same. The events section was about twice the size of the VI Daily News. I gave up.

Super Bowl? I don't remember anyone mentioning the super bowl on the VI. The only football anyone there cares about is what we call soccer.

The weather. The first graph compares the average highs, the second compares the average lows. St Thomas is blue. My friends on St Thomas are swimming in the ocean without wetsuits, wearing sundresses to work, and getting a lot more Vitamin D than I am.



I miss the weather.