10. Winter - HA! Just kidding, it was miserable. Like seriously, I don't miss it at all. Wearing all those clothes, having to pack gloves, a scarf, a hat, extra socks...blah.
9. My boots - That being said, I did really love stomping around all week in my boots. The only times I put on socks and real shoes in Thailand are for work and to play basketball, so it was nice to put on some heavy duty work boots and stomp around Chicagoland. Makes one feel much more manly than wearing white flip flops.
8. Christmas! - I think I like the Christmas season more than the actual holiday, and I only got to experience the last 2 days of it, but I loved it. Everyone is happy and nice and its the best time of the year.
7. My bed - We have done so much room switching at my mom's that I'm not even sure whose mattresses they are, but the bed I was sleeping in while in 'my room' at home was huge and soft and incredible. It was a rude awakening getting home and sitting on my bed here and brusing my tailbone.
6. Driving - Wasn't planning on driving at all when I was home, but after plans changed and I averaged 3 hours behind the wheel each of my first 4 days home, I realized how much I miss being in control of your destination like that. Just not the same as on my bicycle here.
5. Food - Chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips (thanks Joe!), deep dish pizza, burgers at Five Guys, Frisco Melt, Mom's bacon and eggs, Pancakes with real syrup, Resse's PB Cups, HC-Orange from McDonalds, Chili's Queso Dip, Portillo's hotdogs/vanilla shake, Dad's lamb-chops, buffalo wings with lots of bleu cheese dressing, Potbellies ham and cheese, and crab cakes and a medium rare ribeye from Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.... My tongue and heartstrings loved it, my newfound potbelly, not so much. (Also, dad cooking on Christmas Eve and mom cooking us breakfast that one morning were the only two, home cooked, not-eating-restaurant-food meals that I had all week. No wonder I got fat.)
4. Gambling - Sure I lost and came home smelling like smoke, but being able to throw dice and sit at a blackjack table for an hour with my friends was like scratching a much needed itch. (And one that would get me arrested in Thailand. Hey, if I have to leave the country to gamble, might as well head home to do it, eh?)
3. Live Sports - Went to a Hawks AND Bulls game. Atmosphere for the Hawks was so much better, even if only the Bulls managed to pull out the win. Still, both were awesome. And seeing D Rose in person...speechless.
2. Culture - Saw 2 plays ('The Importance of Being Earnest' and 'Who's Afraid of Virgina Wolff?') and a musical ('Million Dollar Quartet'). And I'll even include going downtown to sing Christmas carols and watch 'It's a Wonderful Life' on the big screen. I really do get an inordinate amount of enjoyment from being able to digest different types of culture like that, and considering I get very very little of that here, I was very fortunate to be able to do so much when I was home.
1. My Family and Friends (duh) - From walking off the plane to hug from my 8 foot tall little brothers and a 'Welcome Home' reception (complete with a sign), to a trip the casino and a New Year's Eve party with some of my oldest friends, to seeing two plays with my best friend, to spending some time with my brothers and them letting me win at Ticket to Ride (not to mention treating me to lunch!), to not one but TWO breakfasts with my aunt and grandparents, to a burgers/True Grit/Hawks game boy's day with my dad and brothers, to Illini Bowl watching and New Year's Day football watching parties filled with catching up with college friends and old roommates, to having my mom spend a day treating us to a play and a very fancy dinner downtown, to numerous lunches and dinners spent catching up with random people, to finally having an extended family Christmas with all 30 of there (and being the last ones to leave), to a concert downtown with my sister...it really was an incredible week.
I am incredibly incredibly fortunate and my week was super busy and packed with some very fun activities - I mean you go to one sporting event or play or nice dinner, and its a good week...I went to what seemed like 15. (And thank you very much to everyone who helped make all those happen, esp you Mom and Dad. I know everyone worked really hard and planned a ton to make my week fun, and even though I had crazy high expectations, it was like a million times better than I could have hoped for, so thank you.) But even despite getting to do all these things, (and I know this is super cliche) it's perfectly clear to me that it's not what I got to do, but the people I got to do it with that made it such a great week. Just being able to see and spend time with the people that I care most about in the world was what made it so good. So thank all of you for taking the time out for me and working with me as I tried to squeeze all of you in to my crazy busy week. I have an incredibly tough decision coming in the next few weeks (which I will try very hard not to agonize about on this forum) and regardless of if I decide to come home or not, the biggest thing in my pro list for returning to America, the thing holds more of a pull than all the other factors put together, is the ability to be near those I love. So I guess I just want to say thanks for making the decision so hard.
TPWWLT - 'Hey Jude' - Across the Universe Soundtrack
PS I've tried to thank them numerous times, but one last public shout out to Mom and Dad. Besides making my week home so enjoyable, you were the ones responsible for financially getting my home. I really appreciate it, and I love you.
Thank you =)
ReplyDelete