THE THINGS I MISS
1. Jeff
Today, Jeff started work in his lab at Duke. For the first time in a year, we’re not together all day, every day. You think that would be enough togetherness to drive anyone insane and make them long for time to themselves, but really, we have a damn good time together, and I miss him. The fact that I’m home completely alone probably doesn’t help. At least back in DC, I had my “work spouse” Jessica to chat with all day long.
2. Walking
During our travels, we pretty much walked everywhere. We walked to the grocery and to restaurants. We walked to the store. We walked to the beach. We walked through town. We walked up mountains. We walked and walked and walked. I wish I’d taken a pedometer to determine how far we walked each day because it was a lot. Now, we drive. It’s too far to walk most places, the road’s aren’t pedestrian friendly, and well, it’s just not what you do. Sure, you can go for a walk, but walking as a mode of transport is not common. We’re looking to buy a house in an area where our feet would be our main mode of getting around, but right now, the car is what we use.
3. Summer
Fall was nice at first. The crisp smell in the air, the crunch of leaves on the ground, the splendor of trees in full color. I enjoyed putting on a sweater, and not sweating while I slept. But okay, that was enough. I’m done, especially now that we’ve changed the clocks, and it gets dark so early. Winter is on its way, and I, for one, am not a fan. I want summer back.
THE THINGS I DON’T
1. The Clothes in My Backpack
The five tops and five bottoms I took with me on the trip are still in Seattle, and for all I care they can stay there forever. I love having jeans again, enough underwear to not have to do laundry every week, and clothes that actually look good together. It’s a bit overwhelming though, and I have to admit that rather than decide between the many items I have, I sometimes just put back on what I wore the day before (though I do change underwear, don’t you worry). If I could re-wear clothes in stinky, sweaty developing nations, then I can do it in clean, clean America.
2. Dirty Bathrooms
I walk into public bathrooms here and marvel at the cleanliness. There’s toilet paper, soap and running water, hand towels or dryers! Though before I’m sure I found them a bit sketchy, I’m now quite certain I could probably eat from the floors. Private bathrooms are simply phenomenal. The soap smells nice! The showers don’t require shoes! The toilets flush! We are spoiled I tell you.
3. Eating Out
When you go on vacation, one of the highlights is getting to eat out the entire trip. When you go on vacation for a year, however, that gets old really, really quickly. You get really tired of sitting at a restaurant, only getting to eat what’s on the menu, waiting for food, paying the bill, etc. You sometimes want nothing more than to open your refrigerator, pull out your favorite foods, and home cook yourself up something delicious. In South America, a lot of hostels had kitchens, and we took advantage. In Africa, these kitchens disappeared after we left South Africa, and they were pretty much non-existent in budget accommodations in Asia. Now that we have a kitchen back, we don’t want to leave it for a restaurant. I’d rather cook.
***This post also appears on Spargel. I’ll be writing about every day life over there, but I’ll cross-post entries that relate to our trip here on Lives of Wander.
REPEAT!
Yes the cold loses it’s novelty very quickly for some but Im lovin putting on my wooly sweater and coats.
We’ve only been traveling for 4 months now and already agree on missing our kitchen. In Europe we tried to eat healthy yet still packed on some pounds, we’re defiantly not eating as healthy as when we’re home. I look forward to making a salad and it only costing a dollar versus $10, or sushi (in Vancouver) costing $6 versus $30.
I’ve often mentioned to Dee that we need a pedometer for all the walking we’re doing!
cheers,
Scott
True, true, and true!!
I love that you already miss Jeff on his first day back at work. 🙂
Post a blog about the house hunt! I would love to see what you guys are looking at….
“they have toilet paper”
lol
I am glad that you have plenty of underwear!
[Repeat of repeat]
damnit!
Greg took my response.
I like the part about your “work spouse.” She sounds like quite the lady!
Oh, I also like the part about eating from the bathroom floors. I’d like to see you do it. 🙂
Have I told you how glad I am that you are back?
Welcome back to the good ol’ U S o A.
Alison, we’ve posted a blog about the house hunt on Spargel (http://spargel.blogspot.com).
Thanks for this, T! Great to talk to both of you last week:)
After my last backpacking trip, I donated all my clothes in the backpack! LOL 😉 so I totally understand! 😉