Hallo From America

Greetings from somewhere in the USA - it's good to be home, dial-up connection and all.

A quick and true story, with more to follow:

Arrived at the airport Atlanta, jet lagged and weary from 17-odd hours of trans-Atlantic travel, and without the amount of American dollars I wanted. So I set off to find an ATM, couldn't, and finally one of the kids said "ask her" while pointing to a lady in an information booth.

This "ask someone" approach is a last resort for me, especially in Europe where a language barrier can result in you being farther from your destination after following what you thought were accurate directions. But this is AMERICA! No language barrier!

So I approach the young lady, smiling, and say: "I need to find a..." and that's when I realized that after two years overseas and hours of sleepless travel in coach I couldn't remember how to say in English what I wanted. I had forgotten the American term for what the Germans call a Geldautomat!

"Um... uh.." I sputtered, "one of those machines that gives you money..." she's looking at me like I'm at least strange and possibly dangerous, and maybe considering calling the homeland security folks that had just welcomed me home, but suddenly I see the lightbulb come on over her head.

"An ATM?" She asks.

"Yes, that's it, an ATM!" I turn to the kids. "Kids, in America geldautomats are called ATMs!" And now they look at me like I'm worthy of concern. But they're also pointing, as is the nice young lady, at the ATM machines three feet down the wall from the information booth.

"Ahh yes, there they are, thanks." And they work like a charm. (Though I'd forgotten about that 1.50 charge for the privilege.)

It's good to be home.

More to come.