- Honest Tea Half-Tea & Half-Lemonade (the company even tweeted me!)
- Mexican food from restaurant in my hometown
- Takeout Thai food from my university town
- A clean kitchen
- My college campus and the libraries there
- Having more than one knife, fork, spoon, etc.
- A decorative room
- Driving (believe it or not)
- Pizza from Pizza Papalis and/or Jet's
- Hearing American accents all the time (believe it or not, once again)
- Home-cooked food (macaroni and cheese comes to mind)
- Trying to cook with friends
- Teavana teas
- Almond milk (no where to be found here)
- Having a laundry service
- Showering in a regular sized shower (not a wet-room)
- My Tempurpedic pillow
- Seeing friends and family in real life (not via Skype)
- Super efficient Americanisms (like free refills on drinks)
This trip has also made me aware of the multifaceted thoughts and qualms I have with a traditional American life in Suburbia, USA. We're conditioned to work hard in school and go to college and get a job and have a family in the suburbs with 2.5 children, a dog and a white picket fence. I fully respect much of that notion, especially when it comes to education, however; I think this ideal has its issues. The ever elusive "American dream" and all its promises to millions of people permeates our culture and upbringing and often leaves many desiring more or shorthanded. And while I fully understand the desire for a secure and "normal" life, a part of me really wants to break that mold and not fall victim to a tireless and uneventful day-to-day life. Perhaps the Europeans and Brits have the balance figured out a bit more as they seem to retain a bit of themselves and their culture of enjoying life a bit more. The US is the most overworked nation and while we're awfully efficient at a lot of what we do, our "work-tirelessly culture" hurts us in the end and can lead to a monotonous and predictable life in many respects.
Just some thoughts.
I was just talking about that last paragraph with someone today. It's def not just the Brits. The US is kind of an island priorities wise. I don't feel like getting into it though, I'm sure we've talked about this before/you know there aren't any kids in my American Dream lol. Also, I was thinking about No Thai earlier *sigh*. At least you have decent food there. The food here is bad because *drum roll* they export all the good meat they're known for. It makes so much sense/why hadn't I considered that.
ReplyDeleteDon't go back to the US and pretend you're better than everyone because you've lived in Europe/use a fake Madonna accent. Lololol, those people are annoying. "Yah, I backpacked/studied abroad in/visited my grandmother in Yeewrup, I'm sow posh/savvy now" lol Also, come to Argentina for break (!) I feel like I haven't seen you in years, literally. But then, my internal clock is broken.
Chao