Things I’m going to do when I come home…

It’s just a little over a month before I come home, so I’ve started making a list of things that I want to do and food I want to eat when I get home.  I’m so jealous of Ian since he’s going home at the end of this month and is getting to stay for a whole month.  What I would give for that!

Things I’m going to do:

Celebrate the fact that I blend in and can read EVERYTHING- No more standing out!  No more being the only foreigner in town!  No more wondering what people are saying!  (On the downside, I’m probably going to have to censor myself and not talk about people right behind their backs.  EVERYONE understands me in the States!)

Wear a bathing suit and not feel guilty about it- I might as well walk around naked when I wear a bathing suit here.  At least, that’s how it feels.  Bathing suits here are more like giant one piece tunics, so when I show up in my bikini, I tend to get a few stares.

Sit in an air conditioned house- I will do this and marvel at the fact that EVERY room (not just one) in the house is a perfect 72 degrees.

Laugh at gas prices and “expensive food” at the grocery- You think $3.50 or how much ever you’re currently paying for gas is a pain?  Try doubling that amount and then talk to me.  We usually pay $7-8 a gallon.  Think that $6 watermelon is too expensive?  Try $25 for a watermelon.     

Food:

Cheese-I want to eat so much cheese that I won’t be able to poo for days.  I never realized it until I got to Japan, but there are SO MANY different kinds of cheeses in the States.  Colby Jack.  Mozzarella.  Swiss.  Provolone.  Cheddar.  Pepper Jack.  Since the only cheese Japan seems to know about is the same un-named bland, white, flavorless cheese, I want to make sure and get my fill while in the States.

Cake- Cakes here all taste like fluff.  Generally they are very beautifully crafted, but they all have that light and airy taste to them!  Plus, they don’t really doing icing, and if there’s any filling in the cakes, it’s usually the whipped frosting.  How I miss a dense pound cake with buttercream icing!!

Panera- I can honestly not tell you how much I crave soup in a bread bowl with a blueberry scone right now.  Mmmmm…..

Pizza Hut- Oh, how I long for deep dish, stuffed crust, inch thick cheese pizza!  And come on, Little Caesar's, Papa John’s, and Domino’s…you’ve all got nothing on Pizza Hut!

The Station- This is a local burger place by the mall in Paducah.  It’s themed like a firehouse, and they’ve got amazing burgers.  They even make their own fries.  My mouth is watering…..

Fazoli’s- If I want any ethnic food, Italian is the easiest to get here, but that doesn’t stop me from craving the greasy goodness of American Italian.

BBQ- Japan considers anything grilled for be “BBQ’d.'”  Not quite.  Try again.  I want delicious pulled pork with sweet (not spicy!) BBQ sauce.

Smoothies- I. Miss. Smoothies.  They were so quick and easy to make and so very, very healthy.  Toss in apples, oranges, strawberries, bananas, or whatever is lying around.  Add yogurt, and ta-da!  Breakfast or afternoon snack.  Fruit here is too expensive to buy to make a smoothie with.  Even if I did buy it for that purpose, I’m not sure that our crappy little blender could chop up all of that fruit.

Sweet tea- You never realize how much you miss something until it’s gone.  Japan has one million different kinds of teas, but unfortunately none of them are sweet tea…..unless you count milk tea, but that’s COMPLETELY different.

Squash- Japan has no idea what this vegetable is.  It’ll be squash season when I get home, so I want eat my fill of squash.

Comfort food- I don’t care what it is, just give it to me.  Casserole.  Mashed potatoes.  Fresh vegetables from the garden.  Cornbread.  Yeast rolls.  Pot roast.  Chicken pot pie.  Fried things.  I’ve eaten some pretty crazy things in the past year, and now I want to eat something that tastes like home.

I WANT NOTHING NOODLE OR RICE BASED.  I DON’T EVEN WANT TO SEE A BAG OF RICE WHILE I’M HOME.

Okay, now on to what I want to do:

I don’t have a lot of plans because I know that the time will fly.  I’ll probably be so tired the first week, and by the time I recover from jet lag, I’ll only have one week left.  I know that I want to go up to the drive-in one night to catch a double feature, David and Lucy’s wedding the first weekend, a birthday party the next, but other than that, I pretty much don’t have any plans.  If I spend every day laying in the pool with my family or catching up with friends, that’s more than find with me.  I’m just happy to be coming home for a few weeks!  GAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!  SOOOOO SOOOOON!!!!       :