While everyone at home is getting ready for their Thanksgiving feasts, I'm planning the trip I'll be taking through Thanksgiving weekend. Despite not being home to celebrate a real Thanksgiving with my family, I've still been thinking a lot about what I'm thankful for. All of the opportunities that I've been given since the start of this calendar year are what come to mind first, but with just three weeks away from my return to the states I can't help but think of all of the things I'll get to experience again when I'm back.
1. Free Water
When you order water at a restaurant in the United States you expect it to be free. A lot of college students do it because it's smarter than paying a few dollars just for a soda. When you order water here in Europe you have to distinguish between whether you want still or sparkling and then you're handed a bottle of water that sometimes costs more than a soda would. Since the water comes in bottles and not from the tap refills also aren't free. As a matter of fact, hardly any restaurants here offer free refills on any drinks.
2. Ice
If you've ever been out to eat with me then you know how much I hate having ice in my drinks. I don't drink fast enough to finish them before the ice waters them down and without ice there's more room for the liquid, which means more actual product for your money.
Here in Europe ice is very hard to come by. You can't just walk into a grocery or convenience store and buy it in a bag like you can at home, and very few restaurants use it. Something that I noticed soon after arriving here is that alcohol is more important than any other drink. This being the case, any alcohol you order will always be cold but most other drinks you order will be room temperature. No one likes to drink room temperature soda.
3. Drive Thru's
I never realized how convenient going through a drive thru really is until I came to Europe. They're nonexistent in every place that I've visited over here so far. Going through a drive thru is incredibly easy because you don't have to stand in line inside and wait, you can get your food and immediately leave even if the weather isn't great and you don't even have to change out of your pajamas to do it. In London especially, it rains a lot. No one wants to walk a couple of miles just to get a burger and fries from McDonald's. No one wants to carry said burger and fries back home in the rain.
One thing that I do think is better about this side of the world is that most places cater to people on the go. It's very easy to walk into a tube station and pick up a pre-made sandwich or refrigerated pasta. Although, because of this, fast food isn't exactly easy to come by. There definitely aren't nearly as many options here as there are in the United States.
4. Wal-Mart and Target
Being able to walk into one store and buy basically anything is apparently a luxury that only exists in the United States. Being that mostly everyone uses public transportation, in any store you walk into you'll see people with multiple bags from other stores. This makes it hard to navigate around merchandise and it's annoying and tiresome to have to carry bags in and out of stores. Additionally, the bags that you're given aren't like the somewhat sturdy ones you're given in the mall, they're cheap plastic ones that rip too easily. Imagine carrying a bunch of those around different stores and then onto the tube.
5. Grocery Bags
In any store you go into you're expected to bring your own bag although not many people do. When I leave my room I don't think about possibly needing to bring along a bag just incase I decide to buy something while I'm out. I personally think a person walking down the street carrying an empty grocery bag looks weird. It costs about 5 to 7 cents to buy each bag from a store. When you first hear that it doesn't sound so bad but it definitely adds up.
6. Free Restrooms
I have yet to find a restroom in any country I've been to over here that is free. Restaurants will let you use theirs so long as you've already bought something and that's about it. There are a good amount of public restrooms everywhere but they all cost about 1 or 2 American dollars to get into.
Having to pay to use a restroom isn't too bad when you consider the fact that they're usually the cleanest and nicest ones you've ever experienced in your twenty or so years of living. However, when you just want to wash your hands or fix your makeup it's annoying. Also, if you're adamant about washing your hands it definitely adds up.
7. Customer Service
I think it goes without say that everyone has had a bad customer service experience. Americans are known to be rude and nasty people. However, I can honestly say that the worst customer service I've ever received was here in London, and not just on one or two occasions. I had one sales associate straight out tell me "Sorry I'm just on Facebook" when I called her out for using her phone instead of helping me. Waiters and waitresses are a lot less interactive and often show no interest in their tables and only show up to take an order and then to deliver it. This makes it difficult when you have a problem with your meal or you want to simply order another drink.
8. Tabs
Doesn't anyone realize how annoying it is to have to take your wallet out and count cash each time you want another drink? How about how annoying it is to have to take your wallet out and go through the process of using a credit or debit card in another country? Not to mention how challenging it gets to do either of these after a few drinks.
9. Cars
A lot of people in Europe don't drive at all, even those who don't live in big cities. Public transportation is very easy to utilize and often a lot cheaper than you would think. Be that as it may, it's sometimes irritating to have to get onto a subway or bus with a bunch of other people. A prime example of this would be after you go shopping and you're carrying a bunch of bags. There's not always room on the tube for you, the other passengers and everyone's bags.
10. Dryer Sheets
Dryer sheets are something that I'm sure most people take for granted. Actually I can name a bunch of people who don't even use them. I'm not one of those people because I don't like my clothing being staticky. Not only do they help reduce static when drying clothes, they could be used for other things as well. I've seen people use them as air fresheners, rags or wipes for dusting, de-staticing hair and even to clean car windshields.
