What I want to do when I visit Home
I have been in Germany for a little over three years continuously at this point. This summer I will make my first trip back to the US since moving here. At the point I left there I was fully ok with the idea of not going back. Now I kind of excited to see the country again. Here is a list of things I missed and experiences I want to stock up on.
Bucket List for Home
- Big Bookstore: Go to Barnes and Noble (or similar warehouse sized bookstores) after dark and just wander. And sit looking at rows of books in English with nice music and the smell of coffee in the background.
- Used Bookstore: Find a used bookstore and get a big stack of used paperback books in English. If nothing else, just to smell the paper.
- Late Night Grocery Shopping: Have the urge to buy beer and yesterday’s donuts from a grocery store at 2am and actually go do it.
- Enjoy a Selection of Beer: Yes, German beer purity laws are nice, but it means all the beer tastes about the same.
- Meet new people and know immediately what language to use: “So do you speak English or only German?”
- Watch useless TV: No one needs 100 channels and commercials every 10 minutes, but really there is still a draw to having it all in your own language.
- Drive in the summer night with the windows down to feel the breeze.
- Personal Space : To be able to be out in society without being in the middle of a crowd.
- Air-Conditioning: Yeah, when it is hot outside and so chill inside.
- Fat-Free Cookies: I know they aren’t any healthier, but I miss them.
- Movie Theaters : Salty Popcorn, English language movies and air conditioning in the summer.
- TBEX : Yup, I will be at TBEX in Vancouver. Looking forward to meeting the crowd.
- Friends and Family : Before anyone accuses me of having a list full of stuff and consumerism, I am really looking forward to seeing friends again. Some have come visit me, but it will be awesome to see them again (in their natural habitat as it were). To hang out and remember why we are friends in the first place. To have dinner with them and remember why Facebook is not a substitute for face to face meetings.
- Girlfriend : No where near least as last, to spend as much time as I can with her. She is the main reason I am heading back (by plane even).
No Regrets
I don’t at all regret my decision to come and live in Germany. I like the life here in a lot of ways. I was a different person when I left the US all that time ago. I will be interested to see how the today-me reacts to the place again and how much of the then-me comes out again. I’m sure at some point I will be ready to come back to Germany, but I am excited to go home again. There will be many things about life in Germany that I will miss.
January 11, 2011 @ 8:55 pm
I’m first of all very happy for you to get home and be with your girl (reading the comment above made me kind of go “awww” 🙂 ).
I definitely didn’t know you were heading home for good(ish) though! Enjoy it and enjoy it for me too! You too @Sally!
I’ll be there in the summer and not only get to enjoy all the things I’ve missed for the last year but also get to introduce my Italian boyfriend to all the oh-so-typical American things that he can’t wait to see! Yay!
Have a safe and comfy flight (as best you can!).
January 11, 2011 @ 9:43 pm
Thanks Annie. I will be back for a month, so not really “for good”, just taking advantage of the larger amount of German vacation. Has your boyfriend ever been to the US?
Flight will be dealt with with drugs.
January 13, 2011 @ 8:11 pm
Gotcha, guess I misunderstood! Glad that you are getting to take a “vacation” home! 🙂 BF hasn’t been to the U.S. so I’m very excited about taking him this summer!!
January 11, 2011 @ 7:39 pm
I loved your list. I lived in Denmark for less than a year when I was a teenager – and loved every minute of it, but it was amazing all the things I loved about coming home, too. ~sigh, wish I could live in another country for awhile again. This made me smile. 🙂
January 11, 2011 @ 9:43 pm
Thanks for the comment. What part of Denmark were you in?
January 11, 2011 @ 5:40 pm
Sounds like a good list of things to do when you’re back in the States. I’m not sure about buying beer at 2am though. Your girlfriend must feel very lucky 🙂
January 11, 2011 @ 8:01 pm
2am is the best time to go to the grocery store. Noone there to judge your buying habits.
And yes, I have the best girlfriend in the world. I am so lucky to have her in my life.
January 12, 2011 @ 12:19 am
I have a question – why isn’t pie on this list? 🙂
January 12, 2011 @ 7:37 pm
Wow. Good point, I did miss pie.
January 11, 2011 @ 5:21 pm
Yay! Salty popcorn! I’m heading home next week for a month & I’m so excited. I’ll be sure to eat plenty of movie theater popcorn & fat-free cookies!
January 11, 2011 @ 8:00 pm
Woot.. Looking forward to the “Unbravegirl unbravely goes home” posts.
January 11, 2011 @ 5:18 pm
That’s a great list of things to go back to 🙂 Sometimes it’s the little things that make us miss home.
You’re lucky to not have any regrets. I do: http://www.eurotriptips.com/?p=1758
January 11, 2011 @ 7:59 pm
Regrets aren’t so fun, but at least you can learn from them.
January 11, 2011 @ 5:15 pm
Very interesting! I think I did almost everything on your list…I just went back after being gone for 2-1/2 years! I’d love to hear if your musings are as similar as mine…or different
http://lifelessonsmilitarywife.blogspot.com/2011/01/things-that-struck-me-coming-back-to-us.html
January 11, 2011 @ 7:56 pm
I love your list of musings. I have been back and forth on other trips to Europe and noticed a lot of what you mention. One that I noticed that you didn’t have was language. I mean that you can overhear people all over the place. It also struck me how weird local accents in the US can be. I had been away for only a year on a different trip and spent time with non-American English speakers. Coming home, I couldn’t understand some people anymore.
I’m sure I’ll do a Musings post when I get there. We can compare then.
January 14, 2011 @ 2:48 pm
Ha! I didn’t even think of the language thing, but you’re right…it’s weird walking by and “hearing AND understanding” every word of these conservations….although I was in the DC area, so I heard some Spanish, Polish and even Italian just while walking around…
January 11, 2011 @ 5:09 pm
This post is so not helping my homesickness right now.
January 11, 2011 @ 7:49 pm
Awww. Just look at all the beautiful things around you and remember that it is cold and rainy where I am.
January 11, 2011 @ 10:10 am
I think this a great post about remembering what we enjoy about our lives, culture, and identity. Some of these things may seem a bit silly to put on the list but in a way, it helps us keep a part of our identity as to who we are and where we came from. However long you are in Germany, you should always miss things or remember what you liked about where you are from because it makes us who we are and gives a sense of comfort and keeps us grounded. For you, this is really important that you don’t spend so much time trying to assimilate where you are that you forget where you come from.
So excited to hear that you are coming to TBEX! I guess I will see you in June! 🙂
January 11, 2011 @ 7:48 pm
Love the comment. Especially the use of “grounded”. 😉 Assimilate is not what I’m doing I hope. I hope acclimatize ends up being more true.
Yes, TBEX is going to be great fun. Looking forward to meet you too.