Unlike in America, most other people in the world do not walk down the street clutching a Super-Grande-Big Gulp. They sip a bit of soda or coffee here and there socially, always sitting down in a civilized manner. Imbibing liquid here seems to be reserved for meals and socializing. There are not cooled water fountains in the hallways. (It's not like you could drink the water.) You do not get coffee to go. If you're thirsty, you suck it up until you get home or meet with your buddies. This is a change for me. I am a two-fisted Large-Coffee-To-Go drinker, and have been all my adult days.
The bottom line is that at the end of the day, after I have climbed the four flights of stairs to my office multiple times, taught a three-hour lecture, worked with students who seem to need a minimum of two hours of me at a time, I'm hot, tired, and very, very thirsty. (I can hear the sound of a thousand World's Smallest Violins coming from all you frozen New Englanders!) Bill is in the same state. We have become acutely aware of our need for something cold, wet, and sweet at these times: cold sugar water. While Bill prefers pineapple juice, I crave Cokes. Cold Cokes. In glass bottles, with a straw. Heaven. (Si, Laurie?)
Bill and I have decided that we remind us of Edgar from Men in Black:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLUaZ4hpNeg&feature=related
Now at the end of the day, before the "how was your day" pleasantries, we simply look at each other and say "Give me sugar...in water" and then we go see if we can find some.
Oh si, those cold cokes at the end of a 95 degree mission trip work day are the second closest thing to heaven. Love you.
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