Things I notice after spending more than a year outside of the US:
1) Wait staff is really friendly and the service is amazingly good.
2) This is because they are working for tips, and tipping sucks!
3) That's ok, because everything is really, really cheap, especially food. Beer, chips, sandwiches, everything is less than half as much as it is in Australia.
4) It feels more like Christmas here, 2 weeks after the fact, than it ever did in Australia. Probably because it's cold, but the lights are still up.
5) Pennies are really stupid.
6) TV and commercials are much more polished here, no infomercials in prime time.
7) Everyone is really excited and amazed when they find out I've been in Australia for so long - it's like I've been living on the moon.
8) Sports and news programs have no idea that a world outside the US exists.
9) I think in Celsius now.
10) I love Australia, but the US is still home.
