Culture Shock

I was a little emotional over our dishwasher yesterday. At first I was thrilled because our dishwasher was washing mountains of dishes, our washing machine was washing mountains of dirty laundry, and the children were washed. Then I got frustrated because we ran out of hot water before I could take a shower. Again. Every time this happens I think about our small water heater hanging over our toilet in our flat in the Czech Republic. I think about how we had to turn the heating element off during the day so our electric bill wouldn't exceed our rent. I think about how costly our way of life here would be there. Then I think about my definition of costly.