It never fails to astound me how much your daily experience changes your perception of the world around you. I initially was thinking in terms of temperature. It's no secret that HVAC is uncommon in the BVI. Even at work, where we do have an A/C unit in the office, we usually keep the temperature set around 26C (80F). Living in the BVI climate on a daily basis for the last year has changed my perception of what constitutes a cold temperature, and I find myself shivering violently in the cool Colorado morning temperatures of 65F (19C).
The daily BVI grind has changed my perception of other things, though, too. It's helped me appreciate how lucky almost every single American is to be living in the United States. It's made me understand why people from other places in the world are so desperate to get here. Not only is the infrastructure here among the best in the world, but the number of choices available on a daily basis makes my head spin -- pick between 60 kinds of breakfast cereal, three or four ways to get to work, a myriad of restaurants for lunch, hundreds of entertainment options. The infrastructure that ensures there's water every time you turn on the tap, combined with all the available products and services -- these things don't exist in most of the rest of the world. How lucky I am to be a US Citizen.
People always make fun of thin blood, until they suffer from it. Once thinned one never quite forgets the pleasure of it.
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