Whenever I'm back in the U.S. for a visit, friends and family always ask me, "what do you miss most from home?" In the moment, I can barely think of anything. My standard response is having my family near, but that always seems to disappoint. I think they want me to wail about how much I miss Wal-Mart and SUVs, but when I'm visiting home my Paris life seems so far away and the things that frustrate me about living here start to fade away. Now, nearly two months since my last day in New Jersey, I can think of several conveniences and things about home that I miss. Still, I'm not sure they're what people would expect. With five months to go before my next trip across the Atlantic, these are things I'll be pining for...
Kitchen cabinet space. Every time I open the cabinet where the pots and pans are stored I get bonked in the head by the colander. Our cabinets were designed at a funny angle to accommodate the curvature of the wall so there's little shelf room despite it looking like we have tons of space to store things. Kitchen equipment is slowly creeping into the guest room...
Showers that clean me not the floor. Our shower pressure isn't bad, but enough water gets onto the floor to take a swim. Even though the shower curtain is rigged to prevent as much water from escaping the shower "platform" as possible, water still makes a giant puddle on the floor. Plus, the shower curtain design means I feel like I'm getting wrapped in plastic wrap every time I go to wash up. Saran wrap showers are not so relaxing or fun.
Seedless grapes. Grapes with seeds stink. Period. Now I understand why the French make so much wine--they couldn't stand trying to eat grapes with seeds.
Ground turkey. Yes, I could be brave and make this happen at the butcher. But let's get real. I don't go to the butcher. That would involve big league French skills and I'm still in T-ball. Whenever I'm checking out "healthy" recipes online, they always involve turkey. Turkey, turkey, turkey--the one meat that's a bit more challenging to find in the grocery store. Why can't healthy recipes involve duck? I could easily get my hands on some duck!
Eating early. As much as I try to get into the groove of eating dinner after 7PM, I really don't like piling food in my belly just before bed. Maybe if I was better at eating less and staying up late, I could adjust to this time shift, but for now I begrudgingly eat dinner around 8:30PM.
Washer and dryer. I have to psych myself up to go to the laundry mat. There's a serious pep talk that happens every two weeks when I've run out of clean clothes. I cannot stand doing laundry in Paris and it's not that I don't like doing laundry. I don't like the inefficiency of having to leave my apartment, haul my clothes to the laundry mat, wait for them to wash, and then wait some more for them to dry. The process kills the better part of an afternoon, does a number on my change jar, and honestly, I feel kinda dorky walking down the street with my pink laundry bag. I'm always worried a stray sock is going to get accidentally left on the sidewalk or worse, a bra! We've looked into installing a washer dryer combo in our apartment, but there's just not enough space or a water line that we'd be able to connect it to. This means I will continue hating on the laundry mat for at least another year.
What do you miss most from home? Special food? A favorite radio station? Your mama's hugs? Is there something you'd have to bring with you if you moved abroad or that you can't live without? Please share!
As I'm rushing around this morning trying to pick out something to wear to work, I can't help but want my car. Why? I can hid in it. If you saw what I was wearing you'd want a car too. Nope, no special party at work today, no costume, just me not knowing what to thrown on. Before moving to France, I could rely on my trusty stead of a Honda to shield me from the eyes of pedestrians and other commuters. Now my lack of fashion sense and early morning face are out for all the world to see. Although the public transportation systems is one of my very favorite parts about living in Paris, I want nothing more than to slink into my car and get off to work. Am I worried about what my colleagues think about my nonexistent dressing skills? No--they're 5 years old. Thank goodness.
3 cheers for looking schleppy and rocking it on the sidewalk. Happy Friday!
My cherry tree surprise!
This past Sunday marked the end of the
2011 National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. I cried a little inside, boo hoo Linds. Call me a tree hugger, but I desperately wanted to be in the pack of tourists jockeying for a spot to get the best photo of the cherry trees in all of their springtime glory. When I was little my family and I would drive into the city to see the blossoms and more recently I'd make the April pilgrimage with my friends. There's something about how the trees' branches gently descend toward the water of the Tidal Basin and the way the puffy pink blooms create a blanket of petals that makes the annual cherry blossom watch one of my favorite hometown events. You can't help but want to give the trees a big ol' squeeze especially when you find yourself sitting under their branches, toes nearly touching the water and later, discover an accidental petal stuck in your hair--a sweet reminder of Spring's short lived vitality and the heat of Summer to come.
Blue skies, pink trees, oh Spring I love you!
Luckily Paris pulled through and was able to satisfy this American craving with a sweet cherry tree surprise. On our way to watch the marathon, M. Frank and I found a grove of cherry blossoms just asking to have their picture taken. No more crying inside! I got my cherry blossoms this Spring after all.
Pretty in pink :)
I get the urge for American Cravings #4,599,625 and #2,398,764 at least a billion times a day if not more,
yep a billion. I can temper these cravings with expat substitutions, but nothing is quite like the real thing. My thirst for craving #4,599,625
aka very important celebrity gossip is mostly quenched by
perezhilton.com (which is even more ridiculously addictive via an iPhone app.). If I didn't keep tabs on Perez and friends, there's no way I would have known that the Situation and possy are coming to French TV--obviously information of the highest importance...I'm sure the French are peeing their pants with excitement.
#2,398,764 is harder to come by and really should be labeled American Craving #1:
friendship des États-Unis. Until teleporting is available
(inventing it is on my to do list, don't fret), seeing my friends in the flesh is left for trips back to the States and, for the lucky few, a trip to the fab French destination, Chez Linds and M. Frank
. Since
mes amis in the U.S. aren't planning on relocating to my apartment anytime soon, my daily friendship craving is indulged with sweet emails, tweets, and cards. An electronic or handwritten message from a friend reminds me that I'm never too far away from home. In between these lifelines from home, I practice the Wee Sing Sillyville adage: make new friends, but keep the old. Who knew how important this slightly annoying, but awesome childhood video would be in my life?!?
Last Thursday my cravings for both celeb gossip and friendship were satisfied by an OK Magazine that arrived via snail mail. The magazine had been attacked by big, fat, yellow post-it notes. An "old" friend sent me the gossip rag completely marked up with comments--comments that we would have been making to each other had we been sitting on the couch reading the mag together. Her snarky, silly annotations took me back to when we'd be cozying up on our college dorm beds flipping through the latest copy of celebrity news. Forget that Paris was right outside my window...I was back in 2005 splayed out on my L.L. Bean patchwork comforter sharing a laugh with a friend. Cheers to Kim Kardashian's fake wedding plans and a sharpie marker for bringing lots of smiles to my day.
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