Sunday, August 05, 2007 

Back Home

i was really looking forward to being back toward the end of my trip. it was great arriving back in Boston to familiar territory and seeing friends. then i had a whirlwind few days even after my return: Boston, Manhattan and NJ before i actually flew back home. stayed with L in Manhattan for the weekend and as always, it was great to see her. we used to see each other and hang out all the time back in undergrad (and HS and rewind all the way back to elementary school) but we only got to see each other about twice a year for the past several years. for a couple years, she was back in CA while i was away. now that i'm finally back in CA, she's in NY!

first week back home, it was good. it was good seeing my parents and sibs. hung out w/ A and N, also with my cuz M as well. i was so happy to see them all and they were happy to have me back home. however, transitioning back home is difficult. i'm so used to having my own place and doing my own thing and now i feel like i'm back in high school. =(

all that time in Boston when i was away i was really looking forward to finally being back home. now that i'm back, i miss my life there. grass is greener on the other side!!! and why is it that everything is better in retrospect? selective memory, i guess.

i think it'll be easier once i have my own space again and have things settled. you'd think having time off would be great but after a while, it's also very boring.

8:40 PM | |

 

a few things i found interesting in Europe:

there is no Diet Coke or Pepsi. it's called Coca Light or Pepsi Light.

ground floor is not the 1st floor. the 1st floor is what we typically call the 2nd floor.

the basement is floor -1. three floors down? -3.

in most places in Europe, you have to pay or tip to use the bathroom. the ones where you don't are so filthy they make you understand why you'd actually want to pay to use the facilities.

it's difficult to get very cold drinks. refrigerated drinks are not as cold as we are used to in the States. ice with your drink? you can almost forget about it.

tip on getting really cold, icy drink in Europe: go to McDonald's.

Europeans are more mindful of conserving energy, water, and paper.

Europeans don't drink straight from the bottle (water, juice, etc.) - the contents are always consumed after being poured into a glass. i think it's considered uncivilized to drink straight from the bottle.

you almost never see Europeans eating/drinking on the go.




8:28 PM | |