The Other Side

sears tower peeking thru the fog
Originally uploaded by dutchlop.

Happy 2008! I'm back on 'the other side' -back on European soil already. And on the other side of winter - on the way up: to longer days and more day light.

My time in the US went very quickly. It was only 10 days, but it was pretty packed every single day with things- whether family stuff, shopping, or planning, I really didn't even get a chance to talk to any friends on the phone as I'd like...or even see some in person, as I would have liked that even more! I feel bad about that. I needed more time! I didn't even get a chance to really relax and realize that I was home. I guess shopping at Kohls, Target, and Walmart sort of helped me feel more like I'm back in the US. And the over-zealous customer service in stores and in restaurants. That just does not happen in Holland.

Besides spending a lot of money shopping (the dollar/euro exchange rate is great for those who earn euros!!!), I spent a lot of my time working on the planning of our wedding. It was hard to plan when my other half was not there with me. Invitations were picked, food was discussed, and most importantly, I found a dress. I found it at the last minute, seriously. I visited two bridal stores that week, one a national chain, and one a private shop. There was one other place in Sheboygan that for some reason I didn't go to til Friday night, half an hour before they closed (I thought I had 1.5 hours). I was leaving Saturday noon to drive to Chicago. I honestly did not expect to find something that I liked in Sheboygan. Well, amazingly I found a dress here, and its probably much easier to deal with a local shop owner than with some national chain.

This photo was taken over Lake Michigan as I was approaching the shoreline on Dec 19th, looking south towards downtown Chicago. You can see the top of the Sears Tower on the right, and the Hancock Tower is more towards the left. It was beautiful! I think my short time in the US can be described as this picture: the time was beautiful but also only a short glimpse of what's really there. I didn't have enough time to do everything I wanted to do or see. My mind was sort of in a haze the whole time, since I was so busy. My hometown is on Lake Michigan and I only live 1 mile from the shore- yet in 10 days, I did not even see Lake Michigan. I only enjoyed this image of downtown Chicago for a short minute as we flew on towards O'Hare. My time in Wisconsin was short, but also enjoyed every moment I had there.