That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone...

Some people have asked me in the course of the past half a year (yes, it has been 7 months, going on 8) since I moved back home, "Do you miss the States?" Naturally, my grumpy answer is, "Of course not!" just because it's like those questions that innocent people ask an MK like, "Where is home?" or even, "Do you have beaches in the Philippines?" (yes, I was asked that). Wherever you go, whatever place you leave, wherever you arrive, you will most always miss just something about the place you left. Even if you had a horrible experience, there's probably some moment that you just might miss because you learned something through it. Or maybe it's not true all the time, but for the sake of generalization, imagine that it's true. 

Where was I? Oh yes, the States. Do I miss it? No. I miss parts of it, though. Sometimes you don't realize that you appreciate something until it's gone. No, wait, scratch that. Quite often you don't realize that you appreciate something until it's gone. When I was in college, people would ask me over and over again (it must be like the ice breaker question that you ask all MK's), "So do you miss the Philippines?" Duh. I could list all the things I missed! The Philippines is a part of me, and I missed everything from the food to the invisible but very real feel of just being in the country. I knew the country by the culture, by the smells, by the climate changes -- I could miss the Philippines. The States isn't like that to me. I lived and breathed it for a small period of my life, so I did not learn to love it deeply, but I loved and liked some things on the surface. 

Bored yet? Ok. Here's a list, in no particular order, of things that I do indeed miss about the United States of America:

1. Family and Trinity (That includes everything from the preaching to the people... and in a materialistic sense, their piano... True story.) 

2. PBU (and of course that includes my lovely roommates, my classes (don't judge), and my many and random campus jobs)

• Let's get more specific... WAWA late night runs, H-Mart, Business Rt 1 where every store you could possibly need was on the same road, all the fabulous parks not very far from each other, the picnic bench overlooking the carp-filled pond, the geese that I tormented, the shuttle (I love driving big vans), the Steinway pianos in the music building, cheese quesadilla day in the cafeteria, and ham supreme day in the cafeteria.

3. Walmart. (It's like the SM of the States, but it's not as crowded and the salesladies don't stalk you while you're shopping.)

4. The Public Library. I don't know why this isn't closer to the top. I miss it so, so, so, so much. 

5. I-95. (Try driving here, and you will no longer think driving on I-95 is a nightmare. I'll give you a hint -- I-95 has lane markings! How innovative!) 

6. Fall and Spring and part of Winter. (I love watching the leaves change color and the flowers bursting into bloom, but the only part about winter I like is playing in the snow. I don't like it when it's freezing cold and there's no snow to show for it. Oh, and I also enjoy snow days.)

7. Coffee dates with the girls at the Langhorne Coffee House.

8. Cafe Buono -- is it still alive?! 

9. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Cheez-its, and Guenardi's weekend $5 pizza (junk food love much?!) 

10. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

11. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

12. Did I mention I like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups? The funny thing is, I rarely bought them because I refused to pay that much for a bag of chocolate. I wanted to make my own, but I never actually got around to it. Seize the day. 

13. Thrift stores. (98% of my wardrobe is thanks to thrift stores.)

14. Road trips with my roomies, particularly Jessi. 

15. Garage sales. One man's junk, another man's other junk... :P I actually only go to them for the books.

16. Library booksales. WOW. I miss this, especially the children's booksale every semester at PBU.

17. Bacon. BLT in the summer. Enough said. 

18. Parks. 

19. NYC. I only just got fascinated with NYC at the beginning of this year because I had to go there so many times to get stuff related to my citizenship and it's a cultural melting pot of amazingness and intrigue. 

20. Unlimited texting. Hahahaha. 

I'm sure there are more things. Oh yeah, Barnes and Noble where I could never afford to buy anything full-price but the bargains can be very good, and the store Five Below where I went when all I had in the budget to get a birthday gift for a friend was below $5. Hahahaha. :P

And oh yes, CHICK-FIL-A and it's not because I worked there. They need to go international, to the Philippines in particular.

So wherever you are, if you want to appreciate the little things in life, go! Move halfway around the world, and you will miss things you didn't think you'd miss and you will learn to love things you never knew you'd love (like cockroaches... only if you're a weirdo and I don't like cockroaches, so I'm not a weirdo. Do not question my logic.)