This is only to say

I’ve been in a sentimental, reflective mood lately. Maybe it’s because we’ve moved into the apartments (last Saturday… bad blogger, no cookie) and finally have a bit of breathing room, maybe it’s because we’re getting ready to go out into the field and be even further isolated from all things farang, maybe it’s because I ate half a jar of nutella for dinner last night, I can’t really say. (I had a salad first Mom, stop looking at me like that).

And there are a billion things that I think Thailand does better than the United States. From the major – families that cook and eat together every night! To the minor – Chang apple mint soda water! And the major-that-seem-minor – tonal languages sound like singing at times. It’s a stunningly beautiful country with wonderful people, delicious food, and weather that is gorgeous when it isn’t trying to kill you.

But.

There are some things, even if they are inferior, that I am jonesing for right now. Some of them tiny, “gosh, I just remembered…” some of them monumental, “no, seriously, I would trade my first born child and half my teeth for…” but this is what I’m missing right now. In no particular order (and leaving out people because that is just implied at this point, you know who you are):

• Ruby
• Changing leaves
• Baking cookies so good they ruin peoples’ day
• Sweet-potato smash fries
• Not wearing a uniform to school
• Yoga
• Driving
• Apple Pie (no, seriously)
• Humidity below 90%
• Cowboy boots
• Steel grease under my fingernails
• Showers with doors
• Supernatural marathons
• Pokey Sticks
• Blasting music at obnoxious volumes
• Flannel shirts
• Conversations going on hold while the train passes
• French-press coffee
• Humanities-y classes that don’t make you depressed about the state of the world
• No seriously, can I just talk about metaphors and historical context for a while?
• Building things
• Venison with mashed potatoes
• Solitude
• Oberon
• Curling up by the fire to read a book with pages (not off my computer screen)
• Beds that have any resistance whatsoever
• Skirts above the knee (colorful tights optional)
• Enchiladas with salsa verde
• Weighing the pros and cons of the different Green Lanterns throughout DC’s history

There’s more, sure, but I’m cutting the list off there. I’m afraid this might create the impression that I’m not happy to be here, that I’m dying of homesickness because that is simply not true. Given the choice, I wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world right now. But it’s healthy to acknowledge the little things that make us want to return home, I think.

If we don’t have a reason to come home, then we aren’t traveling, we are just floating from place to place. That’s my reasoning anyway.

 

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