A Little List

I still have some catching up to do, but I thought I'd take a break from recapping to make a couple lists: 

The First, Things I Really Miss About America: (But let me clarify.....even though there are quite a few things about home that I miss, it does not mean, in any way, that I do not thoroughly enjoy Montpellier/France/Europe. It is simply that while away for an extended period of time, one begins to realize certain things that they truly enjoy that they may have taken for granted).

• My Family
• My Family, still
• My really close friends who have spent enough time with me to really understand me--I love Camille, Hugo, Marion, Fred, Josephine, and Adeline so much and they are wonderful people. In fact, I don't know many people that are more similar to me than Camille and I am certain to miss her A TON! But overall, sometimes the "getting to know you" game gets exhausting and I start to miss the people who already know the majority of things about me because sometimes it is easier to just "be" around them. I hate sounding like I don't appreciate making new friends, because I absolutely love it, but after two months, I start to long for the ease that comes with being around the people you've known for years. Hopefully this makes sense and doesn't sound rude or ungrateful.
• My Bed-the kind with a real mattress, a fitted sheet that isn't torn, sheets on the bed instead of just a duvet that can't be used because it's too hot, and real pillows....I really miss pillows. 
• Air Conditioning--especially at night when, even without any sheets/duvets on me and while laying perfectly still with the sliding door and the window in my room all the way open, I am still sweating profusely
• A shower with a shower head that is attached to the wall and doesn't have to be held.
• ICE. Oh how I miss iced drinks. Mom, if you're reading....an iced coffee at the airport will be warmly welcomed...
• BIG cups of coffee--although the little espresso cups here are quite cute and adorable...I prefer large doses of caffeine in a giant coffee cup. The little doll cups are starting to get old :)
• Mexican food (real, authentic Mexican food; i.e. Mariachis, Dos Gorditos, Carisillos, Senor Iguanas, Qdoba). The other night at the wine festival, we ordered Fajitas from a "Latin American Food" stand.....it just made me miss the chips, salsa, and outlandishly huge burritos from home even more.
• A large assortment of spices to cook with. I prefer to cook with more than just salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and "mexican spice", but those are my only options at the moment. 
• A clean bedroom floor. The floor to my bedroom is carpeting (partially with carpet and partially with pine needles and leaves from outside and hair). The vacuum is broken, so there is no way to clean it and I have to leave the windows and doors open to get some air circulating, but neither has a screen, so it's kind of like living in a tree house here. Let's just say, it will be nice when I can walk barefoot through my bedroom :)
• Did I mention I miss my family??

Now, For Things I Already Know I will Miss About Montpellier:

• Camille--It took no time at all for us to become best friends. And yes, I would group her in my best friend category. Not only do we have very similar taste in men (obviously essential), but we have very similar personalities which allows us to get along quite well...surprisingly enough. She is so caring and reliable and she puts so much effort into making sure that my time here is fun-filled and enjoyable and for that, I am so grateful. She has a really good sense of humor, she is independent and motivated, she is stubborn but in a good way, and best of all she is extremely friendly and extraordinarily dependable. She, Hugo, and I have been spending quite a bit of time together (working in lab, eating lunch, having coffee, going shopping, going to the beach, etc) and with each day I grow more and more fond of the two of them. I think a very large part of me is going to be very lonely whenever I have to leave.
• The environment of the lab group--I know that it is very rare for a lab group to get along this well, but Fred, Marion, Hugo, Camille, and I are like a little (slightly crazy and dysfunctional) family. We would be perfect for a T.V. series I do believe. In fact, it's our little joke that one must be at minimum slightly abnormal or crazy to fit into our lab group...it's what makes us such good scientists. It's nice to have such a feeling of belonging in my "work place" (however temporary it may be). I know they are probably a bit friendlier to me since I am a "visitor", but I can tell that even among themselves, they are close and all concerned for the others' well-being (in and out side of work).
• Claire and Peter--I sort of view them as grandparents now. I will miss Peter offering me a cup of tea and asking me how work was everyday when I get home, and Claire bidding me a "good sleep" every night as I climb the stairs to bed. I will certainly miss the times I spend cooking with them on the weekend, Peter's loud, boisterous singing, and Claire attempting to teach Peter French with French songs and telling him "good job" even when what he says is completely unintelligible. I will miss eating dinner outside on the little stone patio at the big wooden table with a lamp for light. I'll miss the jazz concerts and the music playing over the stereo in the house when Claire is preparing dinner. I'll miss Peter's stories and Claire's gut laugh when Peter tells one that is clearly not true. I'll miss this "home"
• The Pastries--every single last one of them because every single one of them is delicious and delectable and to die for.
• The Bread--for the same reasons as the pastries
• The short distance I have to cover to get to the Grocery store, the Bakery, the bus stop, work, etc. I'll miss being able to walk to everything that I need.
• Public Transportation
• The Beach-ohhh the beach.
• Being So Close to Paris
• Paris
• The Gigantic Cheese Aisle at the Grocery Stores
• The Lunches at Work--which are so cheap and almost always delicious
• Coffee Breaks with Camille and Hugo--sitting outside around the fountain sipping our coffee after lunch is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable parts of everyday

So, in all....no matter where I am, I'll always be missing something or someone that is somewhere else. But, no matter where I am, I will also have so much to be happy about.  

"As the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep, so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily, to appreciate more lovingly, our own." -Margaret Mead