Missing Things

Now is about the time in any trip when I begin to miss certain things, to pine for others, and to be downright angry that where I am is not where I am used to being. This never means that I am having a terrible time or that I want to leave. It’s simply me telling myself that I wish I had access to all of the comforts of home, and some days, home itself. For instance, I have hit my peanut butter week. I want peanut butter. I want a peanut butter sandwich, a peanut butter banana milkshake and for the love of Pete, I want a GIANT Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. While it can sometimes be scrounged from the depths of an obscure supermarket, peanut butter is a strange and mysterious thing to most European nations, including Belgium it seems. In the words of Goldie Hawn as Private Benjamin “I want to go out to lunch!” (and not have to spend 15 Euros). Where oh where is St. Louis Bread Co.? I want the biggest glass of crushed ice you have ever seen followed by another glass of Diet Cherry Coke – once again non-existent here. Oh, and while we are at it, how about a nice, tall, ice cold glass of SKIM milk? Finally, I want to watch American TV. I want to watch the Office and have Survivor nights with my friends. I want to spend 6 hours on a Saturday (or a Tuesday for that matter) watching House and NCIS with my roommates. Right about now, at the three-week mark, I begin to miss all of these things. You may laugh, and you should, because, in the end, these are small and insignificant. I am in a beautiful city with wonderful people learning very important things. But standing before my closet this morning, looking at the 4 dresses I was able to fit into my suitcase, I suddenly could not remember why I ever left home. I love my family. I wish life made it possible for everyone you love to stay together. But I also love what I am doing and I know why I left. I left because I realized a long time ago that the world is bigger than home. It is a gift that should be explored and appreciated. So too is education. I know that peanut cravings will come and go and some mornings I will stand in my room and wish to be home. But I also know that I am having the time of my life right now and I would not exchange this experience for anything.

(Warning: this post may be revised come exam time)