"No siren did ever so charm the ear of the listener as the listening ear has charmed the soul of the siren." - Henry Taylor

Even when I feel like I am settled in here, there is one thing that always reminds me that I am not at home. I was just sitting here doing my normal work, and I was jolted back to the fact that I actually live in Europe. It’s one of the things that still seems most foreign to me.

The sound of sirens.

They are not the same here. Here they are more of a “doo DOO doo DOO doo DOO”, whereas in the US they are more of a “waAAAAAAaaaa waAAAAAAAaaa”. And they always, no matter how many times I hear them, remind me of Europe. I don’t think I even really pay attention to them in the US, but for some reason the different sound here catches me off guard every time. You’d think after over a year I would be used to them. But I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the sirens. Or everything being closed on Sundays.