Reverse Culture Shock?

I didn't really experience reverse culture shock coming back after our year in the Netherlands. But what reverse culture shock I did encounter struck before we even set foot in the U.S. Walking to our transfer gate in Reykjavik, I knew immediately when I was back among The Americans.  First clues: flip-flops, abundant iPads, and the startling realization that I could eavesdrop on conversations again.

So when we landed, I started to keep a list of what seemed most striking about life in the U.S.  For example:

• Pick-up trucks 
• Free and ample tap water at restaurants
• Doggy bags
• Maple syrup
• Panhandling
• Passing in the right lane
• Prices exclusive of sales tax and gratuity (drat it, rusty math skills!)

Then there were the more qualitative differences, like how friendly (whether real or fake) clerks are in stores; the feeling of decision fatigue as soon as you set foot in a Target; and the quality of the roads (way better in western Europe). 

But now we are in the NW and, frankly, working through yet another round of culture shock. Looking at the list I wrote two months ago in DC, some of it simply doesn't apply anymore. Take "diversity," of which there's not - sadly - much in Portland. Or "people are more fashionable" - here in Portland we're just as bad as the Dutch. I guess this only reaffirms my earlier conclusion: Portland is just like the Hague, except with way more iPads.