re-entry part three

I am continuing my re-entry series for those ardent blogging fans of mine. smile.
One thing that I enjoy is a good strong espresso. In Spain this is not a problem. You can go to McDonalds and get a better cup of coffee than you can in most places here in the states. I really miss coffee in Spain. It is strong and bold. a mi, me gusta mucho cafe de espana, pero...
But... here there is pretty much only one place out in the suburbs of Knoxville Tennessee where you can get a good espresso and that is Starbucks. I have heard some people here call it "four bucks" since it cost so much to get a cup of coffee but one survival tip for those living on my salary would be to get a double espresso with a hint of skim milk. I can get that for 1.91. The cheapest thing in the house.

Back to my story. Here I am in the south and being able to drink Starbucks. I am remember 6 years ago here where the closest Starbucks was Atlanta and that probably was about it in the Southern Red States. BUT .. times have changed and we have Starbucks now and we have quite a few but somethings never change. Take for instance this story:

I was enjoying an afternoon espresso the other day at our Starbucks Turkey Creek. I had a good book in my hand "The European Dream". As I settled in to read my book and sip on my espresso I noticed several people sitting around. Pretty normal. Some college studetnts, soccer moms and some business people. I noticed this two very nicely dressed professionals having their Starbucks but little did I know or maybe I had just forgotten that in the South there are multiple uses of cups. Yes.. this is right just after a good cup of Starbucks it is time to put a pinch between your cheek and gum and relax a bit and have a dip of Skoal.

You can put Starbucks everywhere but when you put them in some places the culture rules. You may not be able to smoke in the Starbucks ( a problem that really disturbs Spaniards) but in Tennessee you can dip skoal or chew tobacco in a Starbucks. no hay problema

enjoy your espresso.

re-entry part two

I keep getting these re-adjustments into the USA that I am not ready for but I find abusing. Yesterday we were having lunch with one of the intersn that lived in our building in Spain.
We were standing in front of the restaurant. We noticed that a car pulled to the side of the road and then another one pulled in front of the car. A woman jumped out and walke to the car parked behind her. A few minutes later, she left and the other car pulled into the restaurant parking lot. It was our intern and she was red in the face and dying laughing. She had just returned from Spain the day before and she was in shock. She told us the story.

I was driving down Kingston Pike and this lady pulls out in front of me. I really did nothing. I did not even raise my hands. Okay, I honked but that was it and only once. I simply put on my blinker and was pulling into the parking lot. As she pulled in the woman pulled in front of her and stopped and got out of her car.

Our friend did not know what to expect but the lady came up to the window and .....
apologized for pulling out in front of her. I bet that would not happen in Madrid.

adios