It's been too long since I was in the habit of regularly updating my blog. Hopefully this entry will result in a stream of others in the days and weeks to come.
Today we were invited over to a fellow friend/colleague's house, about a 10-minute bicycle ride away. It was amusing the way she advertised her get-together - "Sandwiches American-style," she texted "and REAL chocolate cake and ice cream 4 dessert." Let's just say that enticement, along with good company on a rainy Sunday afternoon, was too much for us to stay away. The afternoon did prove to be a true delight. Yes, it poured, but under the protection of her gazebo and later on her cozy home, we laughed away the cool breeze, stuffed ourselves silly and played Life, an American board game I think I haven't played in YEARS!
Funny what random things you miss when you live the life of an expatriate...of course there are the obvious things you miss like family, friends, high speed internet, safety, ..., but then there are the truly random things you end up longing for. And it changes depending on which part of the world you are in, even which country within the same region!
When I lived in the "Land of the Rising Sun" (AKA: Japan), I missed hugs more than anything in the world. As an American, when I greet, I hug. It's a reflex for me; a NEED. In Japan however, they bow..., which is great. I mean, you feel cool doing it and all, but if you're an American and you haven't been hugged in a couple months, you start to go a nutso with loneliness :p Then there were the other things I missed while in Japan like central heating. Imagine going into your kitchen and finding the water you spilled on the counter the evening prior frozen solid, or your toes going numb because only one room in the house is heated and it's not the bathroom!. I missed BIG ovens, clothes sold in sizes larger than 0 and shirts with enough material to actually reach my wrist, (rather than just my elbow). And finally I missed not having to come into contact with grown, educated women who didn't feel that they had to be "cute" (after almost 7 years in Japan, by the way, that tenancy of so many Japanese women still baffles me).
When I lived in the "Land of Smiles" (AKA Thailand), I missed food that didn't give me hiccups and make my eyes water, roads clear of never ending traffic and the mild temperatures of my hometown. ...ok, that's pretty much it because for some odd reason I never really got that homesick in Thailand.
And now that I'm living in Kenya, the random things I crave are things like wall-to-wall carpeting, reliable police, not being referred to as mzungu - I'M PINK DAMMIT, NOT WHITE! (And seriously, why refer to my color anyway?! I do have a name. Don't know it? "Miss" or "madaam" will do just fine, thank you. Or if you'd like to make my day, "mrembo" would be nice too. wink) - customer service, vegetarianism, people who value keeping time, and respect for pedestrians (there's no airbag on this human being, bana - SLOW THE HECK DOWN!! "Believe me, you'll get there!").
