This is not one of those sentimental lists where I say, "I miss my family and friends." The purpose is to make a comparison in practical terms what I wish I had/what I only have here/what I will miss when I go home. I will try to alternate for effect.
The thing I miss the most is not having a car. Plain and simple. Having one makes transportation so easy and painless. A while back, I went to Ikea. I had to take a bus from the main train station all the way there. The problem is, this particular bus, #11 only runs once every thirty minutes, the entire day. I got the station 7 minutes after the last bus had come and gone, so I waited and waited. With a car, I'm already there. This is somewhat petty, but I do miss my car.
I don't miss ice. I was really, really worried that drinking warm drinks would be the end of me. At first, I struggled with it. Now that it's cold outside, I leave my water bottle or orange juice
I miss the accessibility of american restaurants. Place like P. Terry's and 5 Guys just don't exist here. There is nothing in between fast food and semi-expensive restaurants. It's either McDonald's or fancy food, for the most part. They are also not that accessible, as I said. It takes a while to get there because I don't have a car...I guess that was my first issue.
I don't miss american university courses. Unlike in the US, there are (usually) no midterms and no homework to be turned in. I don't have to fret every 3 weeks about the next round of quizzes or tests. The system is great. If I ever become a professor for some terrible reason, I will run my courses like that.
I miss Sundays being relevant days of the week. Everything is closed on Sunday, which sucks. When it is cold or rainy out, it doesn't give me a huge reason to leave my apartment. I find it really lame. If the weekend is only 2 days long and you lose half of it because the entire city adopted Chick-Fil-A's policies, then you are losing precious time. Everyone craves Chick-Fil-A on Sundays. And that is my rant for the day.
I don't miss playing other Americans in basketball. I'm not the best at basketball (
I miss Wal-Mart. There are few stores here where you can get everything that you need. A couple of weeks ago, I needed to buy more contact lens solution. Unfortunately, no one besides an actual optometrist has any. I had looked at stores first because I thought they may have something. Turns out, only the optometrist. At Wal-Mart I can get a bicycle, a grill, toothpaste, a rug, a football, plants, contact lens solution, and, most importantly, a GUN!!!
I will miss the accessibility of grocery stores. Within 7 minutes walking distance, I can go to 3 grocery stores to get anything I may possibly need. Only one is open later than 9 PM, but the proximity is unmatched for me in Austin. H-E-B is a good 15 minute drive, which definitely doesn't promote healthy eating habits, like cooking at home. I can pop in any of the 3 stores around me and get some carrots, orange juice or milk. I have done more cooking at home in 4 months than ever before, if making spaghetti and tomato sauce 5 times a week counts a cooking.
I miss wearing shorts in public. Yes it is around 32 degrees F outside, but even when it's 70, everyone here wears jeans. I don't like wearing jeans, so I put on shorts when I get home, but then I have to change again when I leave. We'll see in the spring and summer when it really gets warm. I'm going to wear shorts, I don't care how many dirty looks I get.
I will miss the bakeries that are so common in Germany. You just stop by on the way to class and grab a pretzel or two and that is breakfast. There's nothing like it in Texas. They are open facing the street and you just walk up to the counter and order. And it's cheap. Very cheap.
I miss watching american sports everyday. I still tune in to NFL games on Sundays, but I can't watch the Rockets (that might be a good thing, because they are terrible), hockey or college sports. However, I don't ever have to wake up at 8 AM to watch soccer. Games are at normal times here. But still, it is hard to keep up with my rockets.
I will miss being able to play soccer so so so much. As you may have seen in my pictures, there is a soccer field directly outside my window. In the fall, I played several times a week with other people from my building. I have been going to an indoor soccer place during the winter. We rent out a turf field for an hour or 90 minutes and split the cost. It is really fun and the turf is blue. Unfortunately, I couldn't find 9 other people who would want to play soccer in Houston or Austin. I don't even know if those indoor sports halls exist in Austin.
That's probably enough whining on my part. Come visit me and I'll show you what I mean. Start planning your European vacation for summer break, because I will still be in school. I love not having a summer break! But, Monday begins my trip to Luxembourg, Brussels, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. I will be out for two weeks or so, but will post when I get back. I'll be sure to include pictures.
Until then,
Adam
