Sunday, May 19, 2013

A little bit homesick...

As my semester is unfortunately coming to an end, I have been preparing for finals which are this week and I have also been trying to explore parts of Madrid that I have never seen before. I have really started to become sad about leaving the beautiful country of Spain to go back to the USA. On the other hand, I have also very much missed many things in the USA and I cannot wait to go back for these reasons!

  1. Wal-Mart!! In Spain, they have supermarkets but everything besides the food is pretty expensive. One thing I noticed that was especially expensive is makeup! Good thing I don't really wear a lot of makeup so all I have bought here is some mascara(9 euros) and some eye shadow. Also, some things cannot be found in the local supermarket, which is also why I miss Walmart because it has EVERYTHING!! :p
  2. Some fast food places: Yes, of course there is McDonalds, Burger King, and KFC, but these are not the fast food places I miss. I really miss Qdoba and Chick-fil-a! Nobody here understands the variety of fast food places that are offered in America!! Yes, there is also one Subway in Madrid, but I miss there being a Subway on every street!! ;)
  3. Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches! Nutella is the peanut butter of Europe! When I tell Europeans how delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are, they look at me like I'm crazy and respond something like this, "EWW that sounds so disgusting! I thought it was only in the movies!" It is so interesting seeing the cultural differences among everyone and that is one thing I have really enjoyed about being here. 
  4. The Mountains!! Although Madrid is a beautiful city, I really miss seeing the great Rocky Mountains everyday and being able to explore the trails of the Mountains by snowboard, hiking, or biking, which brings me to the next thing.....
  5. Biking! In Madrid, most people either walk everywhere or take public transportation. Since I am living quite far from the center of Madrid(about 45 minutes by public transport) I always take the train to Madrid and then walk besides that. I really miss being able to ride a bike around and the liberating feeling that it gives you.
  6. Driving. Believe it or not, I kind of miss driving a car! Don't get me wrong, it is nice taking a break from driving and having other people do the driving, but I miss driving where I want and getting places quickly. 
  7. An automatic dryer! Although I have adapted pretty quickly to hang drying my clothes, I really miss being able to wash a load of laundry, throw it in the dryer, and have my clothes all clean and ready within 1.5 hours. It is rare to have an automatic dryer here as it is a luxury and everyone just hang dries their clothes. I never really realized how spoiled most Americans are by having these luxuries. 
  8. Lacrosse. Oh how I miss this wonderful sport! Every time I am on Facebook and see my teammates photos from a game or team gatherings, I get a little bit sad and jealous that I cannot be there to play with them and share these team bonding experiences! I have seen a couple guys with lacrosse sticks on campus but they just get together and play for fun. Lacrosse, being a Native American sport, is not so well known here as it is in the United States.
  9. Last but certainly not least... I miss my friends and family! It has been such a great experience living here in Europe and meeting friends of all cultures and countries, but of course I miss my closest friends and family back in the states! I hope to see many of them over summer so we can reconnect and share our experiences from the past 6 months that I have been gone. And I really miss Lincoln, my parents' new puppy! When I left for Spain, he was only about 7 weeks old, so I doubt he will remember me. :(  But I am so excited to go home and see him and play with him! (I hope it doesn't take him too long to get used to me!) 
So far, these are the things that I can think of that I really miss about the United States. I will be coming home June 27 after a wonderful European adventure with my friend, Victoria! I am having very mixed feelings about returning home but I know I will be just fine after I adapt back to the American way of living. So far, Europe has been absolutely incredible and an experience of a lifetime! I want to thank my parents especially for making this happen! My study abroad experience would have never happened if it wasn't for you helping me out financially and emotionally. Thanks so much and I love you!