Friday, December 11, 2009

Countdown to Home

Well, in five days I’ll be returning to Kansas City, Missouri.  As I contemplate leaving, my feelings are mixed.  In one sense it is sad to leave Hungary, but it is also great to go home.  Here's my list of what I will miss - and what I want to return to.  Except for the number one on the list – they are not in any particular order.

What I Will Miss In Hungary

1.     The People – without a doubt this is number one.  I will make a separate post to thank them because the list is so long.

Why I’m Happy to Return Home

1.     The People!  Of course, the biggest thing I’ll miss here are great friends that I got to know even better on this trip and new friendships I’ll retain in the future.  But I miss my family and friends.  I miss my husband, Mike, who has been so supportive of this whole trip and encouraging me when I encounter any problems.  I’ll be happy to see my son Ryan, who is home right now – and though Taylor is in Utah, I’ll still be closer to him than now.  And I can see my sister and Steve again, my brother and Judy, my mom, maybe that new baby of Jeff’s – and all the friends who have been so great about sending me emails or posting to my blog – especially Bill, Georgia, Linda, Laura, and Janine.  I would have felt more cut off from my life without these communications

Back to what I’ll miss in Hungary – here’s the list

1.     The People

2.     The Architecture – hey, in Kansas City I think a 100 year old building is old. 

3.     Public Transportation – love not having a car.  Budapest’s Metro and Zagreb’s tram system are also awesome.

4.     Life Outside – outside cafes and sidewalks full of people make a city lively.

5.     Restaurant service –  here you can stay and talk to friends as long as you want.  Waiters will not bring you a bill until you signal or ask for one.  It’s great – no interrupting your conversations; no hurrying you to clear the table for the next customer.

6.     All the great film festivals (Cinepécs and Zagreb) and wonderful concerts I’ve seen here – free or pretty cheap. 

A r A really good cup of cappucino

8.     Buying fresh food from the market – wow,  I forgot apples were actually juicy.

9.     Feeling safe walking alone at night.   

10.  Learning some language.  I have learned a few more Hungarian words – And I have improved my Croatian.


Glad to be Going Home to

1.     Family and friends  - as I mentioned above.

2.     A Non Smoking Environment.  I did not realize how our smoking laws provide us with clean air to breath.  Some of my favorite cafes here have nausia inducing smoke choking the air, especially in winter when the doors and windows are closed.

3.     Family Christmas Dinner– I can not imagine missing a family Christmas dinner – I was sad to miss Thanksgiving and speaking of that…

4.     Turkey – I want to make a whole roasted, stuffed turkey with all the trimmings because I really missed that.

5.     Cooking and my kitchen in general.

6.     The Plaza library.  I haven’t done as much reading here 

7.     My Washing Machine!!  Enough with doing laundry in a kitchen sink.

8.     Internet Access at Home.  No more walking to a café to use the wi fi.

9.     Reading the newspaper.  I miss my morning coffee and newspaper reading to start the day.

10.  A Sidewalk and paved street outside my condo.  My apartment here has had the street torn up for a month.  When it rains, I have to walk through mud.  Since the street lights have been out at night I negotiate this in the dark.  (Of course, this is not typical – just that there is an unusual amount of construction and renovation because Pecs is the 2010 Capital of Culture for Europe)  Still, I am glad to leave the construction mess behind. 

 

1 comment:

  1. I have missed you too, and look forward to you coming home. I am very happy for you and the great experience you have had; what an adventure.

    ReplyDelete