Reflections from a Quiet House

The beds have been stripped, air mattresses deflated, the dining table reduced to a pitiful size, and the washing machine and dishwasher kept very busy after yet one more round of early morning good-byes. We should be good at this by now, I think, but the house seems strangely empty and quiet now that our visitors have departed for NYC.  Even as we joked with them over breakfast about the joys of departing house guests, I recognized that what I was feeling was not joy. It was that old familiar grief of saying good-bye.

I would rather not dwell on the grief, however.  Instead, I would like to take a look at the pleasures of this visit of our friends from Australia, which have been manifold.  There was, of course, the delight in showing off our house and neighborhood in the full glory of Pennsylvania summertime.  It was hard for them to believe that it is not always this warm and lovely.  "Remind us about the awful winters," they asked.  We described for them again the freezing temperatures we endured earlier this year, but that did not stop at least one of the party from researching options for moving to Pennsylvania throughout the length of his visit here.

Then there was opportunity to watch them undergo new experiences--sugar and cinnamon topping on a baked sweet potato, for example, parking lots full of yellow school buses, strawberry shortcake, and mail boxes in front of every house with daily pick up (!).  The mixture of sweet and savory dishes, particularly at breakfast, was a novelty--bacon with french toast and maple syrup is a favorite combination at our house, but not something that would normally be eaten together in Australia. 

We also enjoyed comparing notes on the difficulties (or terrors) of learning to drive on the other side of the road, the struggles to count out the correct amount of change when using unfamiliar notes and coins, and the differing attitudes toward patriotism in our two countries.  Not unexpectedly, shopping proved to be a highlight for our guests during their stay in Pittsburgh.  Clothing here is cheap, cheap, cheap compared to Australia.  But there were a few downsides to the experience for them--the relentless asking for "details"when making a purchase--zip codes, email addresses etc---seemed intrusive.  

Also they were a bit suspicious of the overly friendly clerks.  "We felt put upon," they explained.  I responded that this was an expected part of good customer service in America rather than merely a ruse increase the chances of a sale. It reminded me of one of my first visits to Target last May when I counted five different staff members who asked me if I needed help in the space of fifteen minutes.  In Melbourne you are lucky if you can find one person to grudgingly give you a hand.  The contrast can is overwhelming.

But if we enjoyed showing them around and comparing notes on similarities and differences, surely the biggest benefit for us was the opportunity to have part of Australia itself on our home turf.  As one friend commented to me Sunday morning at church, "If you can't go there, how wonderful that they can come to you."  

"Absolutely," I replied.  The privilege of hosting was indeed ours, and one that we hope to repeat in the future.

Comments

[Sharon Daffy]

Thank you so much for all you did for us - wonderful memories to take home.

[Marilyn Gooey]

We are looking forward to hear the latest news of the Wilkin family I have enjoyed seeing the pics of places & people that have been on fb
Lovely to see you went to Mc Connels Mill have enjoyed seeing that area in various kinds of weather . We had a few extra folk from Texas on sunday our current USA family had a visit from friends from home with 3 children, so we enjoyed their company at church.I'm sure Phil, Sharon & co will have many stories to tell of their visit.