Welcome Back to the United States

The very real prospect of spending summer trapped in our house under the Middle Eastern Sun proved to be too much after three and a half months dealing with the nuttiness of a pandemic.

The illogical behavior towards the virus by part of the local educational community, ranging from super cautious to super laissez-faire, characterized how stress alters behavior. And all that madness compounded with the stressful monotony of virtual working and added responsibility of distance learning support four different children compelled our escape.

Everyday was Groundhog Day.

Change was fundamental.

And June 21st couldn’t arrive soon enough. We departed Doha with the understanding that our return may incur a two-week hotel quarantine and possible lost wages. But the call to family and friends triumphed over money.

As effortless as a 14 hour transatlantic flight with four children aged twelve or under can be, it was quite . . . manageable. Upon our arrival to DFW, there was surprisingly only one other international flight. The customs warmly greeted us, but perplexingly never asked us about Covid.

Flash forward to August 24th (17 days after our original departure date), our family (barely) boarded the return flight to Qatar. Those 64 days highlighted various aspects of a unique 2020 United States.

Some components always catch our attention after being outside the USA for an extended amount of time, others were new. Those factors being color, and in particular green, food, family and friends, a toxic political environment, the emergence of golf on my radar, kids and aero yoga, and the virus in the room, Covid-19.

“I’m getter fat and enjoying every minute of it.”

Easily my favorite quote of 2020. And courtesy of Nadine.

Since mid-March, our overall health and fitness had successfully improved. American food had other plans.

Start with the fact that food was at least a third of the price of that in Qatar . . . and it was temptingly delicious. A small pint of blueberries in Qatar costs $8. A Kroeger shopper can walk away with a container four times that size for only $2! Of course I am going to eat more food.

What do you do when you haven’t seen family and friends for a year? Eat and drink!!! Those positive vibes combined with inexpensive food and easy access to a six-pack of beer, left little undecided. Food conquered fitness.

Plus, Doha has a plethora of cuisine options, but Tex-Mex restaurants leave a lot to be desired. My first stop in Texas was to Rosa’s. It also happened to be my second, fourth, and seventh. It places high on my list of American food.

Why the color green is so appealing.