I am getting back into the swing of things in the States.  I haven't suffered too much culture shock--bits and pieces of things sneak up on me and make me say: really? But for the most part this is the Walla Walla that I've grown to know and I haven't been too shocked by this place, my parents or the culture.

However, what I've been the most caught off guard by are sizes.

I asked my MoM to pick up a bottle of shampoo and conditioner at the store.  Obligingly she did.  Only they look like cartoons of what I expected.  The bottles are both close to a liter each.  To be exact, I think they are 750 ml of shampoo and another 750 ml of conditioner.  These bottles are big and unwieldy but more than this they are hard to hold and awkward in the shower.  I said to my MoM: wow these are big bottles.<!--more-->

Her response was I know.  So I stood there holding these puffed up, seemingly over inflated plastic bottles of shampoo and conditioner and found myself thinking about how these bottles represent so much of life in America.

We seek out deals and good prices even if it means buying the big bottle whether or not we'll use ultimately use the whole bottle and save ourselves any money.  We think that bigger that bigger is better.  We look for the most convenient things.  A bigger bottle lasts longer and using this rational in the long run it will save us time and money.

But then driving around town today in a small battered 15+ year old car, I found myself thinking about how everything is bigger here in the States.  The SUVs and trucks on the street, the parking spots, the grocery stores and even the people (not necessarily in a good way).  We want more. More space in our cars, more shampoo, more soda (I saw a sign today for a 32 oz. soda for 85 cents--not even a $1, less) and there's a piece of me that gets this. It's perceived to be better, more comfortable, easier, faster and a better deal and who doesn't want that in their lives?

I want a good deal. I want to know that I've gotten my money's worth but at the same time, this kind of excess looks so much more absurd now that I've been living in Bulgaria for the year.  There's something so cliched about the more, more, more and bigger, bigger, bigger of this culture.  It's <em>so </em>American (and not necessarily in a good way). However we still scramble for these comforts.

The thing is, I am not sure how it got this bad.  When did we become this culture that gobbles things up whole? When did it become acceptable to buy the biggest things you can get your hands on? And what happened to "portion control?"

It makes me wonder does size matter and why? What is it that we've got to prove?