What's that?

Sleepily Josiah poured himself a bowl of cereal and added milk. He was really looking forward to the treat. It is not often we ate cereal in Brazil, it is costly and the types are very limited. Suddenly, a look of concern crossed his face, something was not right. He left the bowl on the counter an came to me.

"Mom, something is wrong with my cereal, it's making noise."

He really looked confused when I chuckled. There was simply nothing wrong with his cereal or milk; He simply had no idea that Rice Crispies say "snap, crackle, pop".


Caleb grabbed his dads arm and pointed to the billboard up ahead. "Dad, what's that," he cried.

Wayne looked up at the big hot dog with chili and cheese. "It's a coney.

"But, dad what's a coney?" Caleb replied.

Jacob came to me with a blank look on his face and an envelope in his hand one morning. "Mom, how do you mail a letter here?"

Every day we are reminded by little things that we are not all American any more; things that are so much a part of the culture we don't even think about them, our kids don't know, things that Wayne and I don't know because they are new or have changed over the last few years. Some days there is the vague (or not so vague!) feeling of being lost in a familiar world.