Things I Miss From Asia

• Markets

• Fresh, cheap, good fruit
• People smiling
• Two people carrying one bag
• People telling me I’m beautiful
• People yelling “I love you” from moving vehicles
• Water Buffaloes
• Pop in glass bottles
• Knowing that the hair in my food is mine because it’s not black
• Taking photos
• Motorbike taxis
• Making decisions day-to-day
• Arriving in a new town
• Reading maps
• Riding local buses
• Meeting new people
• Lack of media saturation
• Not knowing what’s going on in the world
• Getting up early for good reasons (like the sunrise)
• Not knowing what time/day/month it is
• Wearing sandals
• Knowing that it will be clear and sunny every day
• Brooms
• Pineapple shakes
• Street vendors and food stalls
• Well-behaved children

Things I Don’t Miss From Asia

• Plastic bag litter

• People spitting
• People flinging their snot
• Packing my bag
• Bargaining
• No fixed prices
• Foreigner prices
• Clothes that are too small for me
• Being asked where I’m from
• Being told “America is #1”
• People telling me I’m beautiful
• Mosquitoes
• Sweating
• Doing math to convert currencies
• Taking photos
• Dirty feet
• Dodging touts, drivers and money changers
• Learning the same phrases in a new language every three weeks
• BBC World News
• Counterfeit everything
• Paying more for visas because I’m American
• Being called “Madam”
• Lying about being alone, where I’m staying etc.
• Drinks in plastic bags
• Papaya
• Trying to explain why America reelected Bush

Things I Had to Get Used To Upon My Return

• Receipts

• Tax
• Driving
• Speed limits
• Price tags
• Eating with a fork
• Cutting food
• Handing people things with my left hand
• Sports coverage
• Local news
• Low humidity
• Putting toilet paper in the toilet
• Not hoarding small bills
• Socks