Thanksgiving

As the day of my arrival in the United States of Awesomeness sloooooowly creeps forward (Did you know I was coming home? Or did you somehow miss my billion Facebook updates/blog posts about that very subject?), I can´t help but think of all the reasons I´m excited to visit. It may be a cliche to say that you don´t know what you´ve got until it´s gone, but in the past few days I´ve realized just how true that statement is. Of course I am most excited to see people (especially ones named Emmeline and Elaina) but I´ve also found myself dreaming about some other basic comforts. For something novel, here´s a list (and feel free to steal any of these for your reason to be thankful this up-coming Thursday)...

- Target. Let me explain... When I´m in my capital city, Huaraz, I often have a list of things to acquire (food, art supplies, clothes, accessories, books, etc.) and it will take me a whole (frustrating) day to find everything. What takes me a day in Ancash will take me an hour at Target. Plus, they have cute shoes.

- The Piggly Wiggly. I plan on visiting the store, getting a cup of free coffee, and staring at the baking section at least once a day. Also the deli section. And frozen foods. And produce. And dairy. Okay, I´m just going to wander the store like a lost (and excited) puppy on a daily basis.

- Showering. Every day. And then being able to blow dry my hair. And wear make up. And feel like a real person. Every. Single. Day.

- Coffee. Real coffee. Not instant coffee but real drip coffee. Every single day.

- Home cooking. When I´m in Huaraz, we often go to restaurants, which is nice. But there is nothing quite like real home cooking.

- Baking. I am so excited to bake in a kitchen that is actually stocked for baking. Baking here always requires some sort of sacrafice because you are always missing some important component (a cookie sheet, cake pan, or cupcake pan; brown sugar; an actual recipe).

- Running on a treadmill.

- Greasy diner omlettes, hashbrowns, and coffee. (Dad, you said we would go out to breakfast multiple times while I´m home... I´m not going to to forget!)

- Christmas! Christmas music, Christmas decorations, Christmas cookies, Christmas trees, Christmas lights, Christmas movies, Christmas snow... the Christmas spirit. It was tragicly missing from my life last year (I more or less tried to pretend that Christmas wasn´t happening) so I am extra excited for Christmas this year.

- Internet. All of the time. I will be attempting to download a year´s worth of TV shows while I´m home.

- Canned soda. I already wrote a whole blog entry on this subject...

- Wine that doesn´t come in a box. And actually tastes good.

- No Quechua. Or Spanish. Perhaps I will even remember how to speak English (though I find that rather doubtful.) I would like to pre-apologize for my constant use of Spanglish.

- Being with people. By far, the hardest part of the Peace Corps (for me) is the lonliness. More than anything, I am excited to be constantly surrounded by people I love. I honestly hope that the drives to and from Madison are the longest stretches of time I need to spend alone. I want to aprovechar (take advantage... but in a good way) every single minute of my trip home. Because more then all of these material things and creature comforts, being with all of you is going to be the best part of this trip. 22 (painfully long) days.

Happy Thanksgiving!