@hamburger,
A story you might appreciate, hbg:
Some years ago a friend of mine took a round-the-world trip with his wife. They sailed east from New York, traveled across Europe, then to South Asia, on to Australia and New Zealand, and came back to the USA by island-hopping across the Pacific. When they got to Hawaii for a stop-over, the missus announced that this was the most beautiful of all the Pacific islands they had visited. The husband asked what was so special about Hawaii when compared to, say, Tahiti or Papeete. "They've got American plumbing in the bathroom here," his wife answered.