Going home

At the moment, everyone in the London program is reminiscing about the wonderful time we had and how sad they are to leave. To lighten the mood, I’ve decided to come up with a few things I am very excited to return to when we get to the States.

1. Money. You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone, and all of my money is gone (mostly because the exchange rate is ridiculous). Never again will I complain about having to pay 12 dollars for a movie ticket, never again will I complain about how much it costs to ride the New York subway (the cost is basically a dream come true after the Tube) and never again will I ever complain about the costs of drinks. Ever. Never. Ever. You don’t want to know (and my parents certainly don’t want to know), how much I paid for drinks.
2. Burgers. This one seems pretty cliche, but it’s true. The English just cannot make a good burger. Yes, there are plenty of things they do so much better (roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, digestive biscuits). But a simple burger just isn’t one. Apparently beef on a patty with a bit of lettuce, tomato and ketchup just isn’t enough, and they then have to add on some gourmet cheese, a little bit of prosciutto, a talisman from the ancient Egyptians, donkey tongue and some other rather extravagant (and not very tasty) additions. (I have not actually had donkey tongue, and it actually might be quite nice.) So, when I get home, I will be having a plain burger, and I will enjoy it very much.
3. American TV Shows. It’s not to say British TV shows aren’t good, there are just some American TV shows I have not been able to watch here, because they are so behind (I am really looking forward to the day when we get British TV shows the day they come out in England, and Brits get American TV shows when the day they come out in America; it would make everything so much simpler). The final season of Mad Men is happening, and I cannot watch it. My friend Sarah missed the final episodes of the final season of Parenthood. It really shouldn’t be that big a deal (and has sort of made me realize how much I love television), but it is. I miss it, and I will look forward to binge-watching when I get home.
4. My Phone. I am beginning to see that a lot of these are electronic items and food, and I’m not sure how I feel about this. However, I am so done with having to type on my very very old British Nokia phone. I do not understand why when I was younger I was so enthralled with the idea of typing very very slowly on a phone that was so tiny, but the nostalgia for better days is gone. I will never want the Motorola Razr again. Never in a million years. As soon as I touch base in the U.S. I will be texting everyone on my iPhone, just because I missed it so much, and I will never complain about its weird hiccups again. (Also, as an add-on to this, I really miss just being able to plug my phone and computer into the wall without a converter.)
5. Notre Dame I don’t think this one really needs any explanation.

These are just a few of the things I’ve missed about America, and there are quite a few things I will miss about being in England. Being able to see my extended family, the fact that everyone drinks tea (America really needs to stop discriminating against my tea habit). I will miss the weather next February, as I pound across South Quad, where not even my ridiculously long puffy jacket can prevent me from feeling the cold. I will miss out for the next three months due to the fact that the drinking age is 18 here. I will definitely miss pub culture, (and I think this is something we should definitely bring to the U.S.). There are so many things I will miss, but they will also remind me of how much I loved my time here and how much I’ve loved the people I am with and the city that I have lived in.

And it really just means I’ll have to come back again. Which will certainly be no hardship on my part.