Reverse Culture Shock

Back in Texas.

Roberto and I are back in Austin. We survived the journey. The dogs survived the journey. But when we finally landed I felt like all of us had been run through a tumble dryer together.

Rudy out of his carrier for a brief moment.

For those of you seeking advice about traveling with dogs, here are some new thoughts.

• Don’t do it. Unless you are permanently moving or traveling for many months at a time, your dogs are better off being left behind with someone you trust. I’ve seen people post on forums about traveling with pets for vacations that are only a few weeks or a month long. NOT WORTH IT. Equate it with flying with a baby. You may be annoyed when you hear that crying baby on a plane, but it is nothing compared to the stress of the mother who is holding the crying baby.

• If you must do it, I got a great tip from our new vet. Our smaller dog Rudy is extremely high strung and begins to tremble if you walk him more than one block away from home. He did a lot of growling and barking on our first plane journey last fall, so the old vet said I could double his dose of anti-anxiety meds (don’t do Benadryl; it makes some dogs more anxious). Nowadays they prescribe Trazodone and Gabapentin, both of which are also used to treat pain. Doubling up worked a bit better, but when I mentioned to our new vet that Rudy was a bad traveler he said, “Give him his first dose the night before.” These meds take 3-4 hours to kick in, so this idea was GENIUS and was a GAME-CHANGER. Rudy was so much more relaxed as we traveled to the airport and he didn’t even complain about getting in his carrier!

• The same new vet told us about pet passports. We had been paying a lot of money each way, each time we flew; we needed signed papers that attested they would not turn into Cujo mid-flight. This fabulous vet said, “Why are you doing that? Just get them EU passports and they will never have to do that again.” WTF? I’m still annoyed that our old vet didn’t tell us this. They make a LOT of money from pet owners who want to fly, and I can only assume she didn’t want to give up the fees. Three cheers for the new vet! Read about the process for getting a pet passport here (based on our own experience).

Thoughts on being back in the US:

• From the sky the Austin highway system is starting to look like LA. Depressing.

• Our house seems overly bright and shiny—the walls and surfaces. After months of stone and wood you get used to softer textures.

Our shiny shiny kitchen.

• Our backyard became a jungle while we were away.

The weed in the first picture is over six feet tall!

Usually Austin yards die in the summer, so we should be grateful. But I am not because:

• Freaking allergies. From the second I stepped out of the Austin airport I became a congested, watery mess. I can’t take the dogs into the yard for 60 seconds without having a sneezing fit. I miss having a green space for the dogs while we are in Montpellier, but stone and cobblestone have their advantages.

A self-portrait. You turned on yet?

• In Montpellier you say “bonjour” to everyone, always: to salespeople, to the guy tearing your ticket stub, to a stranger passing you on the street. It is considered polite. The first time I walked into a nail salon there I was astonished when the employees AND the customers all turned to say “bonjour.” I felt like I was in a musical. As friendly as Texas is, the onus is on service people to be polite more than it is on the customers. I think the French way is more respectful (the exception to my preference is in a doctor’s waiting room. It is jarring for me to walk in and have a roomful of sick people say, “Bonjour!” in unison. Answering back with a smile feels like, “Hey guys, are we sick or what!”)

• Tipping. Oh my. In France you tip a waiter only for a job well done. And 15% is fine. You do not tip for haircuts, nail salons, counter service, take-out orders, taxis, or drinks. Roberto and I are very popular at our local coffee cafes and bars because we tip (lightly) on a regular basis. I tried to tip for my first haircut and the guy seemed offended. On ne fait pas ça ici. (We don’t do that here.) People who make a living wage and don’t have to worry about going broke from a trip to the hospital don’t need to rely on tips for their living. Returning home and being asked for a minimum 20% tip on what feels like every daily transaction is jarring and reminds me why we find Montpellier affordable. In the US I used to feel like a great tipper when I left 20%. Now I feel like a cheap skate.

• The news. Although Roberto and I read the Times and Post while we were in France, the same amount of news consumption here feels stomach-churning. Being in Texas in particular, I frequently wake up to news that makes me hostile and sad. This is my reminder to you to get away at times so you can have breaks from feeling hostile and sad. It is draining and can quite literally make you sick.

The good stuff about home:

• I was able to get on Amazon and get my favorite matcha powder delivered within hours. In France, Amazon takes anywhere from 3 to 14 days, so this seemed like magic!

• I sat down at a restaurant and they brought me ice water without me asking. More magic!

  

  Look at this glorious, ridiculously large glass of ice water.

• I can call businesses at 9am and don’t have to wait until 10am. They don’t shut down from noon-2pm.

• I f*cking love AC. Sorry environment. The high temperature when we left Montpellier was around 85°F. Outside it was gorgeous but our apartment was turning into an oven, and we were starting to have difficulty sleeping at night. July and August will only get worse, so we left at the right time.

• Movies. So excited to go to a huge mega-plex tonight and see a movie while we eat dinner and have cocktails.

• Best of all, friends, friends, friends! Our calendar is quickly filling and it’s delightful. Can’t wait to hear what all of you have been up to!

I saw this French Poodle yesterday. He seemed confused to have woken up in the US dyed like a Disney princess.

Jusqu’à la prochaine fois,

Carolyn & Roberto

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