Well, we've been back in the homeland for 4 days now.  We're starting to feel a bit more human.  Here are some of my re-entry impressions thusfar.

• Our fridge is huge!  It's merely gigantimous.  It's funny to think about how, in Jianzha a month ago, I packed our borrowed fridge on my back and single-handedly carried it down four flights of steps.  I couldn't even pick up the crisper drawer in this American-style fridge without getting a hernia.  (OK, slight exaggeration.)
• Our washer is also huge!  This is what Christa tells me.  I guess in America EVERYTHING is a LOT bigger than in other countries.  Now we know firsthand.
• Everything is green here.  They don't call Seattle the Emerald City for nothing. There is an upside to so many gray, cloudy days.  Evergreen trees are my new infatuation.
• No one sits outside in front of their home here.  Strange, but true.  There are no porch canaries in our new neighborhood so I try to make an effort to squat on the curb from 2-4 p.m. daily.  It helps with my adjustment.
• The internet is screaming F-A-S-T!!!  And surprisingly, none of the typical sites I visit are blocked.  Not even blogging sites…that's incredible.
• Customer service is back ON.  You can actually call someone on the phone, speak English to them (whoah), order something for a specific day, and receive it on the agreed upon day.  It feels like a form of witchcraft to me, but it works.  It really works…
• Teriyaki chicken tastes as delicious as I remembered.
• The public library system in America is my idea of heaven.  So many books, so little time.
• America has mastered the concept of junk food as art form.  As most of our friends here have moved on to more organic and wholesome dietary habits, my time in China has caused a regression to the point that I only crave consuming highly-processed, highly-fattening, highly-caloric substances loosely labeled as food.  Jabba the Hut–my mentor.
• In the suburbs I can look out my window and not see a single person or car for entire blocks of time.  Eerie. 

I am sure as we integrate into American society more these impressions will change.  It has been really wonderful settling into our "own" home here.  The girls can barely understand this non-apartment concept.  Seeing some of our family and friends has also been a great joy.  We are really excited for the next 9 months States-side.