things I miss about America

It’s more than halfway through the semester; I feel justified in making this list. As a whole, I’m not pining for my homeland, and I don’t hate living in Russia, but there are definitely certain things I miss.*

1. Climate control. My bedroom is always hot. Always. I don’t know how to fix it. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because it’s so stuffy, and I long for the days of windows I can actually open.
2. Chipotle. I mean, it’s so good, and it’s healthy, and it’s cheap, and I can get two meals out of one burrito bowl. There is no equivalent here.
3. Fiber. Speaking of good, healthy food: I miss having green things as a consistent part of my diet. I really do. Fresh spinach, celery, broccoli, tomatoes... yes, I know tomatoes aren’t green.
4. Throwing toilet paper in the toilet. If you want the toilet to flush, that TP has got to go in a trashcan. It’s just weird. And then sometimes you forget, and then you fear you’ve broken the plumbing system.
5. Dryers. We have washing machines in Russia, yes. Dryers? No. So all of my clothes have to hang dry. And then they just feel kind of crispy. Crispy clothes are not super comfortable, you know?
6. Not feeling guilty for speaking English. When I have the opportunity to speak Russian here, I feel like a bad student if I don’t. I would like to be able to use my language without a voice in my head demanding I speak Russian. This is especially true when skyping with friends who don’t speak Russian.
7. Free water. If I want drinkable water that I don’t have to buy, it requires an elaborate filtering/boiling system. Otherwise, I just have to pay. And in restaurants, paying is the only option… you can have up to 120 rubles squeezed out of you for .2 liters of water. For perspective: that’s $3.50 for 1/3 of a Dasani bottle.
8. Normal climate. Throughout the course of today alone, we’ve had hurricane-like winds, hail, snow, rain, and perfectly blue skies. All at different times. And here it’s spring-ish, but you never really know… it’s even less stable than ND weather.
9. Bare feet. You can’t go barefoot here, ever, any time. Even in the summer, going barefoot outside is just not acceptable. And barefoot indoors… heaven forbid. You might catch a cold, or at least end up with really dirty feet (despite the fact that we always wear slippers, and Russians clean floors obsessively).
10. Peanuts. –are expensive here, when they exist at all. My life without peanut butter and pretzels in the mornings, without two bags of trail mix per week, without peanut butter crackers always in my purse… is sad.

So rest assured, I will be returning to America.

*People go without saying. Don’t get upset because you are not on this list.