What I Do Miss From Home

Of course there are also aspects of home I miss.  Some of these are obvious, some might be a little less so. 

Friends and family.  This seems obvious.

Food.  Lots of it.  My first meal back will probably be Mexican food.  I actually know several Americans who go abroad to various places and agree that this is what they miss... there's just no substitute for endless chips and salsa and enchiladas and burritos and quesadillas... hmm.  Cold Stone Ice Cream (I actually dreamed about it sometime around our second month here).  Mellow Mushroom Pizza - I've had pizza, yes, but nothing like Mellow Mushroom!  Panera... everything there.  Abundance and variety of fresh fruits and vegetables (although there is a good bit here, it's often different kinds than I'm used to).  Cereal.  Fresh orange juice!!  Smoothies.  Starbucks (sadly, yes - I admit it).  Chik-Fil-A.  Man, now I'm hungry.   

Driving.  Although we've driven a couple times here, it's different... and we're driving 15 passenger vans!  I miss my Jeep - although sadly it is mine no more... so I will be looking for something new to drive once I am home! 

High Speed Internet.  Broadband has not made it to Liberia yet.  Some connections are faster than others, but none are really sufficient for watching videos or uploading pictures to Facebook unless you have a lot of time to spare. 

The basics you would expect: showers, air conditioning, constant power, TV (the Office!), my bed, etc.

My clothes.  I mainly bought clothes to bring here - long dresses I thought would be cool and modest.  Most of my clothes were not practical to bring, so they were left behind.  On the bright side, I will feel like I have an entirely new wardrobe when I get home!

Makeup.  Never thought this would happen, but I miss it.  It's easier to feel pretty and feminine with it - things I haven't felt much in the last year!  I'm OK with that... but I suppose that's another thing I miss - getting dressed up and feeling pretty.

Unlimited phone usage.  Pay by the minute makes you very aware of how long each phone conversation lasts and how much it costs.  I certainly took having a phone plan that lets me talk and text all I want for granted - I will be more grateful now! 

Going to the gym.  Although I have recently been running more and trying to do some basic exercises (crunches, push ups, etc.), I miss spending an hour at the gym working really hard and leaving feeling totally spent.  I miss my workout classes, especially spinning.  And free weights... canned foods just aren't heavy enough!