We Miss…

Laura and I often talk/email with friends and family back home. Sometimes the conversation turns to things we miss that we don’t have overseas so we’ve decided to start a little page of things that pop into our mind now and then. I guess we could use it at as a list of things to do, see, or get when we go back home. It goes without saying that family and friends are always going to be at the top of our lists.

This page is a work in progress. We’ll update it now and then with new items. Here’s the list so far:

Laura:

U-Village -

Law and Order – We bought a couple seasons for our ipod, but it’s not the same as having it on TV 24 hours a day.

My Miata– We just bought an old Nissan, which has really made our lives better here, but it’s not the same as my little Miata.

Good milk and ½ and ½ – The milk here isn’t very good and they don’t have 1/2 and 1/2 at all.

Steve:

Milk - I really miss the milk from the states. I don’t know if it’s more fresh or maybe I’m just used to it. Either way I really miss the taste of milk from home. Secondly, milk here is $8.50 per gallon!

HDTV – You all know that I’m a huge tech geek and the fact that we left the states just as HDTV was becoming mainstream has been tough to leave behind.

Taco Time/White Castle/Steak-n-Shake – We have the usual places like McD’s, KFC, and Pizza Hut, but I miss the beef burrito at Taco Time, the cheese burgers at White Castle, and the Chili Mac at Steak-n-Shake.

Border’s – We have a pretty good book/cd shop, but it’s not the same as walking into a Border’s with a Starbucks and browsing for a couple hours.

TIVO – I never got a chance to ‘tivo’ any shows, but from what I’ve heard it’s the only way to watch TV.

Finding Places – I miss jumping in the car and being able to get somewhere easily without guessing where I should go. Understanding Mandarin is one thing, but being able to read the road signs is a whole other thing.

English – Although we can just barely get by with our very limited Mandarin, and some merchants speak English, we do miss being able to converse fluently in English when we are looking for something or trying to find a particular product.

Update: Jan ‘08

After a quick trip home to surprise my dad for his birthday I was able to take care of some of those things I miss.

Milk – Drank a little too much of that while I was home.

HDTV – Got to watch a little of that.

Taco Time/White Castle/Steak-n-Shake – I made it to Taco Time, managed to choke down a couple Steak-n-Shakes (of the frozen variety).

TIVO – Didn’t get to mess around with that.

Finding Places – Had fun jumping in the car and running up to U-Village and Fry’s.  (Getting rear ended by a big ‘ol truck and trailer on I-5 was something I wasn’t planning on).

English – Used it.