When I first arrived here I hadn't been warned really of the differences in customer service at restaurants.  I became easily frustrated when we didn't get service in the first few minutes and when it took an hours to get the check I would be very angry annoyed.  In grocery stores I'd get short with the cashiers because they were so slow and didn't even smile at you.  I assumed it was because I was a foreigner, which made my anger even worse.  However, coming up on our last month here, I realized that I've changed.  It's just a part of life here to take your time, not be rushed and relax.  I realized that there was not point in getting your check right away and that it's much more fun just to sit and talk for hours with my friends.  My patience at stores is higher and I no longer get short with employees.  I think that once I realized that I was being treated just like everyone else, I started to feel better, and could step back and observe that it was just a cultural difference, not anything malicious.  I feel like my value of time has changed.  I feel less obsessed and controlled by my watch.  My days aren't filled with a million things to run to, so I appreciate people more.  I feel that when I get home, I don't want to schedule my whole day like I used to.  I hope that I'm able to spend more time with friends and family because I've realized here just how much I need them and how much I took them for granted-always choosing school and scheduled activities over just spending quality time with human beings.  I never realized how much my watch controlled my decision or my state of mind until I came here, and I hope to some extent that this freedom of time will continue when I return home.