I knew from other trips to the US that I would like certain things — good roads with drivers who are more inclined to stay between the lines, for one!– and miss certain things from Mexico –the courtesy and warmth of Mexicans, for one.

We hadn’t been in the US for almost a year when we flew to Denver about six weeks ago. We changed planes in Phoenix and once we figured our connection out (not too hard), we had some spare time to watch people. It was like a speeded-up movie, people darting everywhere.

There was less eye contact than I’m used to with strangers in Mexico, partly because an astonishing percentage of people were talking on their cellphones. Seems like that’s how many of the younger ones cope with life, by staying in touch with people they know on their phones. I hope Dr. Mercola is wrong about the connection between cellphones and brain tumors. (It may not be on his homepage, but use the search box and you will find a lot.)

Kelly used the phrase “lonely isolation” to describe how American towns seem to him after living in the more densely populated Mexican towns, where there are more people walking down the street. I didn’t actually feel that, but I saw what he meant.

We are both having sticker shock in the grocery stores. Produce is 3 to 5 times what we’d pay in Mexico, by and large. We haven’t been buying avacados, just can’t bring ourselves to get inferior ones for a stiff price! But I have eaten tons of blueberries! And the fresh corn, ah, so sweet… yes, I know it’s genetically modified.

People are running into hard times, no doubt about it. Most of our friends are just fine, happily. Life is going on, kids are growing up to the point that I haven’t recognized some of the suave teenagers as the little kids I knew just a few years ago!

We are enjoying easy access to Netflicks and Amazon. And it’s fun to get mail again, haven’t done that in years.

Best of all, for me, has been the warm welcome of so many people in the town where we lived for a decade before moving to Mexico in 2005. I always feel like a guest in Mexico, though certainly a welcome one. Here I am enjoying being one of the locals.