Where are we again?

This has nothing to do with India, it's just a gorgeous spot along the road.

Jason and I have noticed that being here reminds us of India. It's like India but in the US, the perfect mix. Here are the similarities:
- Tropical climate: We are actually 4 degrees closer to the equator here than we were in Ahmedabad.
- Which leads to Tropical fruit: We have papaya trees in the backyard, pineapple grows in the front yard and the mangoes are sweet and juicy, yummy.
- Different language: Hawaiian is all around, particularly in place names but also just thrown into conversation.
- Hard to understand English: They have a slang here called pidgin. Fortunately, I don't hear it much personally.
- No sidewalks
- People have their own way of doing things: Between 'island time' and strange Indian bureaucracy we have to figure out how things work.

Then there are the differences because we are still in the United States:
- Street names and addresses: It was always tricky figuring out how to get places, now we can use mapquest.
- Paved roads: There may not be sidewalks but there isn't any dirt sitting around on the side of the road either.
- Traffic order: People stay in their lanes here and no one drives against traffic on a one way street.
- Animals: Cows are kept behind fences and on the table, dogs all belong to someone and monkeys are only in the zoo.
- Mail: It may take longer but we can still send a letter for one stamp.
- Box stores: We have a Wal Mart, a Borders (although it's closing), a Sears, Ross, Costco in Kona and Target is coming to our side of the island next year.
- And most importantly the Church: There is a stake in Hilo alone and a temple in Kona, a far cry from having church in our living room with just the two of us.

It should come as no surprise that we are in the mood for Indian food a lot more here than we were in California or Philadelphia.