Las listas

Okay, what you've been waiting for is finally here!  My fun lists that I have made.  I still feel like they  aren't complete, but here's a start.  I'm sure I'll think of stuff as time goes on, but here it is!

Things I miss in Peru

·         Freshly squeezed orange juice - I started every morning with a fresh glass of orange juice and it was delicious!  For those of you who have had it, I'm sure you understand why I miss it.

·         More food - There's a long list of the foods that I miss so here it is (They're in no certain order)

o   Picarones (the deliciously sticky donut type things)

o   Lúcuma (Tropical fruit - it's best as yogurt or ice cream)

o   Lomo saltado (Obviously if you read my blog you know that this was my favorite food)

o   Manjarblanco (kind of like caramel)

o   Canelitas (The teddy graham type cookie that I hunted for with Tonisha)

o   Anticuchos (Cow heart kabobs)

o   Cancha (Corn kernel snack)

o   Chocolate cake (not just any chocolate cake, but the chocolate cake on campus)

o   Milk (I actually am not a fan of milk usually, but I really liked the milk in Peru, it's really sweet)

·         Peruvian summer - It was nice to start seeing Lima when there was sun!

·         Parque Kennedy - This park was just a nice place to walk around and it was a central meeting place for the other students in my group.  Also, Sunday's were really fun in the park.

·         Friends/Host family - This is kind of an obvious thing, but I love everyone I met done in Peru and I will never forget them.

·         Deporte y Vida - I absolutely loved going to Deporte y Vida every week to volunteer

·         Taxes included on the prices - This is something I really miss!  I love that I was able to look at a price and know that that was exactly what it was going to cost!

·         The fact that men stand up for you on the micros - Although this can be viewed as a sign of machismo, I actually enjoyed the "politeness" of some men standing up so that I could sit down on the micro.

·         Adventure - The fact that I could go anywhere and do anything was exhilerating

·         Easiness of school - Surprisingly, my classes were pretty easy and I'm not looking forward to the workload that I will have next semester.

·         Spanish - Coming back to the United States was really weird because everyone speaks English.  I find myself getting really excited to hear Spanish here in the states now.

·         The cost of food/everything - Everything was so cheap in Peru compared to the U.S. and I miss that

Things I won't miss in Peru

·         Cat calls from guys on the street - I hated this so much that I can't even put it into words.

·         Rice - Don't get me wrong rice isn't bad, but I'm glad that I don't have to eat it for every meal now.

·         Other foods

o   Fried eggs - Sometimes fried eggs will just randomly be placed on the tops of meals and personally, I'm not a fan of them.

o   Ceviche - Again, not a fan, however, I did have a little bit once and I enjoyed it.

o   Cuy - I only had it once and I don't think that it will be twice anytime soon.

·         Honking - This grew on me, but the excessive honking in Lima is a little..well...excessive.

·         Car Alarms - Haha, I wish I could explain the car alarms to you, but unfortunately, my video of the typical car alarm in Peru is not uploading. :(  Like the honking, these went off ALL the time! 

·         Peruvian winter - The whole "No sun in Lima" thing just isn't for me.

·         Large paper - The paper standard size is longer than in the U.S.. and it didn't fit in my spiral notebook (Yea, I know it's terrible!)

·         The song "On the floor" by J.Lo - It played WAY TOO MUCH!

·         Saldo - Saldo is the fee to recharge your cell phones.  It's not too big of a deal, but it's nice to not have to go back to put more minutes on my cell phone every week.

·         Climbing into a lofted bed - Although I did love my lofted bed, by the end of the semester I was ready to be able to lay in bed without having to climb a ladder first.

On the fence things in Peru

·         Always drinking bottled water - Isn't a huge deal, but I like knowing that I can safely drink the water in the states.

·         Micros - I actually kind of miss these, but at the same time, I don't.

·         Throwing toilet paper in the trash can - Not that I miss this, but it just became habit!

Things I missed in the U.S.

·         Cinnamon toast crunch - Obviously, if read my whole blog you know that I missed this, but I actually got it once while in Peru.

·         Other foods - Obviously!

o   Caramel Apples - I missed these during Halloween.

o   Salt - The salt just isn't the same in Peru and I never figured out why.  It's more like a powder than a crystal.

o   Peppermint Ice cream - I didn't miss this too much since I got to eat it as soon as I got home.

o   Anything my mom or grandma makes - no explanation is needed.

·         Hugs - Having a nice firm hug when I got home was amazing!

·         Family and Friends - Again, this is obvious, but I better mention that I missed my roommate, Taylor, and my boyfriend, Logan, or they will wonder why they didn't make the list.

·         Stars - I love the view of the stars from the country.  There's not a lot (or any) stars in Lima.

·         Snow - Missed this and I still do since there is still no snow here in Illinois.

·         Thanksgiving - Although we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, it just wasn't the same.

·         Being home - Just sitting in my living room at home is a great feeling now.

·         My dog

·         Being able to go to the kitchen and eat whatever I wanted :)

Things I didn't miss in the U.S.

·         Cell phone - Although I enjoy having a somewhat decent cell phone again, I'm still not used to having it on me all the time.

·         Negativity - Obviously not everyone in the U.S. is negative, however I believe that US Americans have a higher level of negativity than Peruvians

On the fence things in the U.S.

·         Rain - It never rains in Lima.  There form of rain is less than a sprinkle, but they have no downpours like we do in the U.S.  There were several days in Lima that I said, "If it stormed in Peru, I would think that it was going to storm today."

·         English - Yea, I missed it, but I love knowing another language, too.

·         Driving - I like to drive, but at the same time it was nice to not have to.  Also, there's no way I would have wanted to in Lima!

I hope you enjoyed these lists.  Have you ever left the U.S.?  If so, what did you miss or not miss?