And I'm proud to be an American....

Ok, after the last post/rant/lecture, here is a more upbeat post! Believe it or not, I had actually written this one first, so don't hate on me too much! Also, you will notice that this list is pretty long. I got to 10, and then had more, so it expanded to 15. But then there were even more things I missed, so I made it an even score. (Yeah, I'm a nerd. But you should already know that!)


In no particular order:

1. Drive Thrus for those nights when you get back from the plant really late and no stores are open so you have to go without dinner because you don't want to eat out alone at 10:30pm on a Tuesday.

2. Stores that stay open all night, especially on Sunday - see above note

3. "American" refrigerators and pantries - it's ingrained in me to have a big supply of food around and that is just not possible here. There's no space, the food isn't genetically modified so it doesn't last as long, and there just isn't the supply of processed food like we have in the States. I guess that is why so few people are obese here. God Bless 'Merica.

4. My cat

5. Instant hot water (no need to turn on a boiler and wait 15 min, we just waste the energy to have hot water available all the time! It's great!)

6. Soft clothes without wrinkles. I miss my dryer and fabric softener sheets. See above comment about energy wasting; when I return, I'm getting a drying rack and vow to only use the dryer for things like towels and sheets and clothes that are super wrinkled or covered in cat hair.

7. English

8. Understanding how to do simple things like pay bills and go to the doctor without major drama

9. My friends and family

10. Easily receiving packages (both personal and business). Serbian customs has become the bane of my existence.

11. Fountain Pop with about 10% ice and a long straw.

12. On-line banking and the general use of plastic vs cash. I hate carrying cash!

13. My car - the Punta is good and I like its size. I just wish it had more power!

14. Chips and Salsa. With a Fountain Pop.

15. American MicroBrew. My favorite part of work road trips is trying new brews and trying to get to more breweries than my friend R (though he will win!).

16. Sharp cheese - oh Cabot, where are you?

17. The sound the phone makes when you call someone in the States. Here you get a BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. I miss the RING, RING, RING.

18. Being able to watch College Basketball without having to stay up all night.  Boiler Up!  You can do it without Hummel, I have faith!

19. Flying into airports that don't require you to disembark and get on a bus to get to the terminal.

20. The Frito-Lay Fitness Center - so nice, so cheap, and so convenient!

How could  you not miss this silliness?