1. Disneyland
My home away from home. Things are a little less magical when one can't go to Disneyland at least once a week. Sigh. But the magic lives on... in my dreams. I seriously have a ridiculous amount of dreams about being at Disneyland doing various things. The great tragedy is waking up to my alarm clock.
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| Rainy night with the girls walking down Main Street U.S.A. |
Food, glorious food! Americans just have so many freaking choices when it comes to food, especially in Southern California. It's amazing how one little smell or thought can trigger an intense craving for a food item I have long been deprived of and then last the whole day (or week). I drool just thinking about an In-N-Out Burger. Mmmmm...
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| Amy and I comparing burgers at In-n-out. |
I will admit, I'm quite the nerd. I love school. I love being in a class, taking notes, doodling, getting lost in my own thoughts, learning lots of nerdy things.... being away from college means I don't get to fulfill my nerdy needs. I am stuck making due with online classes. Which are evil soul sucking creations of doom. I need a classroom pronto.
4. Watching T.V.
Although there is a T.V. in the apartment, I don't ever watch it (unless it's the kids channel with my girlies). Why? Well, it's being all in German is a major factor. Also, we don't have a bunch of channels. And I really don't have the desire to watch it. I mostly catch all my T.V. shows on iTunes (yes, I actually pay to watch things), so I don't feel the need to suffer through only understanding half a T.V. show. But I've come across a problem... how am I going to watch the Olympics?! I love the Olympics, and will be tremendously sad if I can't get some coverage of it in English online. This, along with not watching Top Gear every five seconds on BBC America, makes me really miss my American T.V. channels.
5. Target/The Mall
Target, my love. I pretty much live at Target. Lived. I haven't seen the interior of a Target in far too long. I miss going just to look at all the things I wish I had money for or running around the aisles trying to get all the things I can afford. There really is no place like Target here in Germany. Which is tragic. I also miss American malls... here malls are a relatively new thing, and they are slightly smaller and more compact. I get all claustrophobic and want to leave as fast as possible. Shopping is great here, I just miss my typical stores.
6. Talking
I love to talk. So not being able to be understood all the time drives me bonkers. Most of the people I talk with either speak in German or English (a lot of them know other languages). My German isn't so great, but I can get on well enough, especially when the people I talk to can't speak English. But on the whole, I know quite a bit of people who speak English here. Which is great (and not so great for practicing my German). But, I really miss talking to native English speakers. Many American idioms and many of my strange words ("sassy" being a prime example) are lost on people here. To their credit they often just nod and smile haha.
7. Rhonda the Honda & Road Trips
Here, if I want to get somewhere, I either walk, ride my bike, or take a train. That's just the way things are. Not everyone has a car. And if they do have one, they don't use it as frequently as Americans do. I can count the amount of times I've been in a car here on my fingers. It's such a rare thing, and I pretty much get giddy when anyone mentions a car ride. I miss my Rhonda the Honda desperately. I love getting around how I do here, but there is just something so wonderful about having my car to take me places (I have a huge list of reasons, I won't bore you with them). And taking trains to other cities is great, but they take all the fun out of a "road trip". I need a road trip through the desert like now.
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| Rhonda the Honda and I chilling out in Niland, CA. |
I get really excited when I can perfectly read a sign these days. Sound pathetic? It's not. When you live in a country where everything is in a different language, suddenly being able to read signs is difficult. Being able to read them and feel like a normal part of society is pretty freaking exciting. Same goes for walking into a bookstore. There's nothing more horrifying than seeing thousands of books that I am unable to read.
9. "No Weather"
Ahh I never realized how spoiled rotten I was when it came to weather. I mean, I "knew", but I didn't really "know". When cold to me means throw on a sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers; it's a real shocker to suddenly find myself wearing three pairs of socks, boots, leggings, jeans, an undershirt, shirt, sweater, coat, scarf, gloves, and hat. Long, cold Winter to say the least. The other day it was warm enough to wear just a skirt, shirt, and jacket and I told freaked out. Why? I felt naked.
10. The Beach & Ocean
Oh how I long to feel sand between my toes and frolic around in the waves. So Cal girls aren't meant to be away from the ocean this long. My inner mermaid is having some serious withdrawals.
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| The girls and I striking a pose on the beach in San Diego, CA. |
Gone are my long afternoons and evenings spent pouring over homework (and facebook) while slurping up ridiculous amounts of good coffee with friends. For something that was such a big part of my weekly routine, it's strange not to have it happen anymore. I miss it so.
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| Jarae and I at It's a Grind pondering one of the big questions of life: Face in a book, or Facebook? |
I've met people from all over the world the past couple months. I've seen many cultures in action, and it's fascinating. I love meeting new people. But as much as I love all the people I've met, I miss my Americans. There's no one quite like us. We are weird, but I love our weirdness. And it would be really nice to be able to say I'm from California and not have it be in the least bit interesting or exciting. Just once.
All that being said... these may be the things and places I miss, but I mostly miss my friends and family. Because these places and things wouldn't be so awesome without them. Can't wait to tackle you all with hugs when I get home. Until then, I continue to bask in the awesome adventure that is Germany. Even if that means six more months of no In-N-Out Burgers.
