GOOD THINGS ABOUT MY RETURN TO AMERICA:
1. Iced coffee. Is that weird? Should I have put my dogs, family or friends, first? All of them? But seriously, think about your Dunkins habit. Even if you drink your coffee hot (weird), you know there is a specific way that you enjoy your coffee, a way you get it every single day (medium french vanilla iced, skim and sugar... unless I'm at Java Madness, where I switch it up for snickerdoodle iced. My mouth just watered.), that can never be replicated. So yeah, ICED COFFEE.
2. Getting my hair-cut with only the normal amounts of anxiety experienced when a stranger is standing behind your head with a sharp object. I do not care how good your Spanish is, how fluent you think you are- you tell me you don't panic when trying to explain exactly how your hair should look, and I will call you a liar.
3. Whoops, I got distracted: family, friends, MY NEW "CUTE, BUT NOT VERY SMART" PUPPY. Sushi with Grandma as soon as I get home.
4. I return right at the beginning of the best time of year. Sam Summer's are already on the shelf, the cottage is opened, and hopefully I'm going to have a huge head-start on my tan. Sorry friends.
5. THE COROLLA. If I had a car in Spain (in combination with only working 12 hours per week), I would have driven all over this country 10x over, with the exception of Gran Canaria, because that means Canary Islands, and those are, well, surrounded by water. AND NOT RELYING ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION!!!! Sidenote: I hope I haven't forgotten how to drive. Think my parents will let me drive home from Logan after what will probably be a 12+ hour journey?
6. Buffalo sauce. Food so spicy that it makes me cry. Parentals brought 3 bottles of Frank's Red Hot in January... is it weird that they are already gone by mid-April?
7. That thing called "the English language". Not having to conjugate people's verbs for them. Speaking at a normal pace. Not guessing what things mean (and hoping I guess right).
BAD THINGS ABOUT MY RETURN TO AMERICA:
1. The cheaper lifestyle here. Where, in America, can I buy a beer or a tinto de verano (red wine and Fanta, DELICIOUS) for less than water? Bottled, not from the tap, but that's not the point. Going grocery shopping and buying a serious amount of food, for less than 10 euro is fairly liberating.
2. The nightlife. Seriously, my goal before I leave is TO SEE A DISCOTECA CLOSE. I want to hear "last call". I think that would translate to "la ultima bebida" or something. I think the latest I've made it is to 7:30am, and still the club is packed. Of course, when I leave at 7:30am, I can't help but think that the bars at home are closing at the same time. Depressing.
3. Travel. It's normal to see 10 euro flights to other countries. I mean, sure, with taxes its about 80 euro, and then with the exchange rate, but still! Real cheap. Hitting up Paris and London before I go home though, so that should quench my travel urges for a bit.
4. I don't have a future there. This one should maybe be number 1.
5. The public transportation. Sure, unreliable, but there's something nice about falling asleep on the commute to work, rather than having to stay conscious 'cause I'm driving or whatever. Also, not having to worry about a DD ever. Although we live within walking distance to all the bars/discotecas, which is a blessing and a curse considering the hill we live at the top of.
6. Not living 10 minutes walking distance from the beach. Enough said.
7. Knowing that I can't use "Lo siento... no hablo español" when I don't want to understand. For example, homeless people, giving people directions in the street, solicitors asking for donations for what is probably a good cause. Although, the other day I was walking where there was construction and a guy yelled something at me (in retrospect, I think I heard "¡ARRIBA!" aka "UP!") and seconds later something crashed to the ground 15 feet from me. Whoops. Maybe the English won't be so bad after all.
So, in total, I think that I will be happy about being home for approximately 2-6 weeks, and then I will be incredibly bored. However, that doesn't change the fact that I should definitely purchase a plane ticket in the near, near future, before prices quadruple.
I find I get bored after about 2 weeks in the US. That's when my legs start to need stretching again. It's also always kind of crushing to discover that no one but your parents really care about what you've done. I think that's the worst thing about reverse culture shock -- no one finds us interesting like they do abroad. I will say this though: whenever I see my family at Logan, it's one of the best feelings in the entire world. Sometimes I wonder if I stay away so long just for that feeling.
ReplyDeleteAny plans for the next adventure?