Dona E. Bowens

August 4th will mark two years since I returned to the US following 16 years living abroad in Barcelona. American, born and raised, I truly believed that “coming home” would be easier. However, I find that after nearly 2 years back in the US of A, there are some things that I will never adjust to. So I decided to do a ten-part series on the little things that I find odd, off-kilter, truly baffling. I’m not ” a stranger in a strange land,” but more so a familiar from a bygone land.

And so I begin…

#1—Whatsapp. I loathe regular text messaging. I really do. The messenger app that everyone insists upon using is such an inferior tool compared to Whatsapp. Plus iPhone users (yes, I have an Android because why spend all that money to text and take pictures of my food? I’ll have more to say about iPhones later in this series.) fuck up any group chat with their “emphasis” and “loves” that come across as gobbledygook on Androids.

This is going to come across as an advertisement for Whatsapp, and I suppose it is, but with Whatsapp I could send you a copy of my book if I so choose. Not a link, a document. The video quality is worlds beyond regular texting. I can and have created podcasts using Whatsapp while texting limits voice notes to 60 seconds. I can travel to foreign lands and as long as I have a wifi connection, Whatsapp will work without worrying about an international phone plan $. In the nearly 2 decades of using the app, I can count on one hand the number of spam messages I’ve received. Can’t say the same for texting, such as it is in the US. If my phone is acting up for some reason, I can log into Whatsapp on a laptop or tablet and stay connected. Most importantly, I can call my friends around the globe for free with Whatsapp.

It would seem that the whole world has embraced the wonders of Whatsapp, while America insists on being exceptional…as usual. Each time I receive a regular text message, I’m jarringly reminded that I’m a prodigal child returned home with my foreign ways and coated in the residue of having been elsewhere.