Things I miss...

I have been a little homesick lately. I know, most people want to smack me because I live in Germany. But, hear me out! I miss the Midwest! I miss sitting on the front porch with my sweet tea (hot or cold, depending on the day) reading a good book, cuddling with my dog, people watching, and waving back at all of the wonderful people driving by. Here, sweet tea can only be drank if I make it (and I do), I have no porch, as my German apartment doesn't even have a balcony, my pup is with my parents because he is too old to travel here again (he was here with me for a while), and Germans do NOT randomly wave. If you attempt to perform this sort of action, they think you want to talk about your entire life and so they come over to you to do this. I think Germans as a whole are a great group of people, but meine Deutsch is nicht gut, and I feel like an idiot if I don't know what they said. Maybe I should be making more German friends?

There are other silly things that I miss as well. Going shopping on Sundays (everything is closed here). My favorite chain restaurants (Steak and Shake, Panera, etc.) because they don't have them here. And Dang it, I mis sStarbucks! The closest one is an hour away. I miss going to Half Price Books and looking for hours to find the right ones. Shoe shopping at a hundred different places (because I love shoes). My feet are so tiny that some German brands don't even make shoes small enough to fit me. Plus, I love to shop, and I don't really care for the European style. Give me a cute "T", a pair of blue jeans, and flip-flops or boots any day. I can't do the skinny jeans or the 80s fashions, which seem to be the thing here. I am finishing up my degree on base here, but it is just night school. I miss going to Indiana University, eating lunch on the quad, walking across campus to get to my classes, meeting people along the way. Here, it is just one building that people go to for class, then they leave class, and then they start over. Le, sigh.

Yes, I know that these are super petty things to miss. In reality, I absolutely love living in Europe. I have been to Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and lastly the Vatican City (yes, it is its own country, lol). I mean, wow! Who DOES that? Still to go (that I have scheduled) are Scotland, Egypt, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey. Ok, even writing this out makes me feel bad for whining. Just one of those days, I suppose. I promise I will be more upbeat next time. I truly do love my time here, and I know that after a month or so after moving back to the U.S., I will just whine to come back.