The Home Stretch

Quick look at the calendar today brought me to the painful realization that there's only 5 weeks left in London. GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE. Really not ready to go back to normal, boring life.  Over here when someone asks me what I did last weekend, typical response is something like "Oh, went to [insert foreign country here] and did [insert life-changing experience here].  No big."  As soon as I get back home that response will quickly change to, "Oh, I went to [insert random Courts party here], and then went to the Hill for chicken fingers."  Perspective.

But don't get me wrong, I want to come home.  At this point my sanity, not to mention my bank account, pretty much need me to.  So when I was bored the other day at work I compiled a list of stuff that I miss.  I'm not talking about the bigs things, like family and friends: yeah, of course those are the things I miss the most but there too obvious.  This is more about the small things that you barely even notice when you have them.  So, in no particular order....


1. ESPN/NESN/Any other sports channel

Stop by our flat on any given Sunday, and you'll see one pretty weird sight.  All of us in the common room, on our computers with earphones in.  We're all watching football usually, except for Billy when NASCAR is on...there's really nothing better than Sunday's back home.  Role out of bed at noon, run to the cafe and get breakfast, come back and shower, and then chill for the rest of the day watching football.  Doesn't exactly work that way here.  Throw on top the fact that our internet sucks most of the time, and all sporting events pretty much become unwatchable.  I'm at the point where I would trade my left arm for ESPN.  And a working TV, our's hasn't worked for over a month now...


2. Commons Food

Yes, you did read that right.  I miss cafe food, a lot.  "But there's no variety, they serve Pastabilities like 4 times a week," you say? Go abroad and then talk to me.  You end up eating the same 5-6 meals all the time.  My roommates and I must eat buttered pasta minimum 4 times a week, but at least at this point we are really fucking good at making it.  One of the first weeks here I got a FB message from a friend back home that they had Buffalo Chicken Penne for lunch, easily my favorite meal at Stonehill.  Which brings up a completely different question: is there a better meal at Stonehill than Buff Chicken Penne? 

Not only is it the food, but the fact that it's made for you, which I constantly take for granted.  It easily takes longer to make a real meal than it is waiting in line at the Commons.  On top of that, when your housing company only gives you one of everything for each person in the flat, you pretty much have to do dishes after every meal...


3. Every System of Measurement We Use in the US

First time I go to order deli meat and the guy behind the counter asks how many grams I want.  Dude I want turkey not weed...gotta love the metric system.  Go the gym and everything is in kilograms.  Might've been helpful to know 4.5 kilos=10 pounds before I tried lifting the first time.  My favorite is the temperature, when I can look outside and see a sign that says 10 degrees.  In my head 10 means bundle the fuck up, then you get outside and it's like 50.  Can't wait to not have to convert things in my head.


4. The Quiet

I guess this comes with the territory of never having lived in the city.  But it's loud more or less all the time.  Especially since I'm a really light sleeper, there's nothing worse than getting woken up by an ambulence/jackass in a Porsche/random group of drunk Europeans.  One of the first things I noticed when we got to Switzerland, even Dublin, was how quiet it was. 


Well, one more weekend in London after this one, then Florence, Paris,  last weekend in London, and finally home.  5 weeks left, you better believe I'm gonna make sure they all count.