European visitors

I haven't taken any photos this week, so will talk about what else I've been doing. I hosted visitors from Austria and Poland who stayed with me for two nights. I am a member of the Hospitality Club, an international organization dedicated to cross-cultural travel and hosting of travelers. I highly recommend hosting to anyone who would like to learn about other cultures, but who don't have the time, money or inclination to travel. I also recommend it for anyone traveling who wants to meet people and really learn about the places they are visiting.

My guests were very respectful and appreciative of anything I offered them, and I was happy that they left with a good impression of me as a representative of an American. Funny, the thing that they were most confused about regarding American culture was the bread—yes, the bread you buy in the supermarket. Unfortunately, Pavilions was closed by the time we got there, and so had to go to Ralphs, which has a terrible selection of bread. We tried to find the brand that was the least squishy, but that didn't necessarily mean it would taste good. I really couldn't give them a sufficient answer about why our bread is so bad, but my theory was that either a) many people just don't know how good bread can be and don't demand it; or b) there is a pervasive idea in the U.S. that somehow foods should last as long as possible, and as a result, will never taste that great. Any other theories out there?