Good Old USA

Things I have missed/am looking forward to in the USA:

-HOT shower and a bathtub!!

-when smiling at people as you pass by is not somehow suggestive

-Mexican food-ah guac I want you so bad!

-SMOKE Free restaurants and bars

-bagels, especially from Bodos in cville

-having my own kitchen so I can cook anything I want and more importantly, BAKE

-when water is never sparkling and always free and I am able to break free from this perpetual state of dehydration I have been in since January

-warm chocolate chip cookies and raw cookie dough

-soup, sandwiches, bagels, and coffee from Panera Bread

-Grauls chicken salad and turkey sandwiches from Take It Away in cville

-grilled chicken and vegetables on the grill that my parents make

-weekends at Sunset Island and finally being able to go to Jamaica, USA (i.e. SEACRETS)

-Starbucks and just the idea of a LARGE cup of coffee

-libraries where I can study, there are lots of English books, and you can buy unlimited coffee (weird, but I have really missed having this type of study space)

-having a top sheet on my bed (for some reason I only have a flat sheet and then a comforter at my host families)

-not having to worry about where my passport is at all times, which hostel I am staying in that weekend, if my bag will fit Ryan Air standards, if flights will be cancelled because of volcanic ash, unpacking and repacking every few days, if I will get pickpocketed etc - and all the other anxieties/worries that come from traveling all the time!

-when things are open late and on Sundays and not closed for a looooong lunch break midday

-the convenience of just getting in the car and driving where I need to go

-Pizza from Christians in Cville and Italian Gardens at home

-Salad bars and salad in general

-access to lots of movies and tv- I have barely watched tv or movies at all while I’m here and I don’t actually miss it that much but I am really excited to just veg and have a movie date night with Kyle when I get home J

-RUNNING on the NCR trail, going to classes at the gym, and just generally getting back into a work out routine and better shape

-reliable wifi

-Archs frozen yogurt and peanut butter sauce (ah cant wait) and TCBY

-the dollar and not having to convert my currency using a very depressing exchange rate!

-being clean and doing laundry more than once a month

-grocery shopping in a store I know that has a huge selection!

-being able to read every

-and of course, what I miss most of all…all the wonderful PEOPLE who make my life great and who I appreciate so much more now that I have been without them for SO LONG particularly: Kyle (so excited to be reunited at the airport in 5 days), my sisters, brother in laws (or soon to be), and adorable niece Gabby, my Mom and Dad, my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins (fake and actual), all my lovely Wedge friends who lived on Page 1^st Right in our first year, all my Tri Sig sisters and friends, and my friends from HS (especially the newly engaged DANA POIST)

AH- I am working on doing the reverse of this, things I will miss when I leave LUX, but I cant write it all down now (it is too long and making me too sad) so I will post when I can. Gotta go study!

Love you,

Care