Cose che Mi Mancano

Things that I miss (in no particular order):

1. Brownies (ok, well this one is pretty high on my list of things I miss)
2. Family, friends, and home
3. Microwaves (my toaster oven keeps heating up only the plate and my food is still cold...)
4. Banana bread/pumpkin bread (and any other bready-baked goods. Italians are really good at pastries, but need a little work in the cakes/sweet breads/brownies area.)
5. Baking supplies (it's hard to bake myself when I still can't find brown sugar in my grocery store)
6. A working oven (oh yeah, that might help with the whole baking thing, too. Once that's fixed, the first thing I'm going to make is brownies!)
7. Driving
8. Understanding the language spoken around and to me
9. Target (cheap things all in one place)
10. CVS
11. Trader Joe's
12. Iced Chai Tea Lattes from Bruin Cafe (my morning ritual at UCLA)
13. Bagel Sandwiches (dining hall brunch--are you noticing the food pattern here?)
14. "Free" gym (that my parents pay for as part of school fees/tuition)
15. Pick-up soccer (guys don't really want girls to play with them here)
16. AC in the summer (the heat for fall/winter has been good so far)
17. Stores being open at "normal" hours
18. My comfy pad for my bed
19. My massage pillow (this one is also pretty high in terms of how much I miss things)
20. UCLA (and all the people that come with it)
21. Places for students to sit/chill between classes and to study (I haven't found any convenient cafes or library study rooms near my classes yet. And there are no places to sit outside, either)
22. Macy's/Forever 21 (easy shopping)
23. Online shopping (even easier shopping)
24. Advil (5 euros for 6 doses...a little steep)
25. Jamba Juice/smoothies in general

I'm sure I'm forgetting some things. And while I miss all this, there are so many new things here that I love. I think I'll appreciate the things here more when I leave because I'll miss them...just like how I've taken all the things on this list for granted until now. Since I don't have easy access to them or I have no possible way of getting them/having it, then I start realizing how much I miss a simple thing like a place to sit in between classes to study or people-watch or grab a cup of coffee to go (which is almost nonexistent here). I've realized that things are just a lot easier in the US. Grocery stores, CVS, Target, etc. all have everything you need in one place. Here, you have to find one or two things you need at a store and then go to another one to find something else. You have specialty stores (in terms of meats, pastas, pastries, cheeses, veggies, etc. and in terms of the grocery store and pharmacy being completely separate), but that makes it hard to do one shopping trip to get everything. So everything here just seems that much more complicated and difficult, which adds to the stress of already being in a different country where a foreign language is spoken, taking classes in that foreign language, having to pay rent for the first time in my life, and navigating a new city and way of life.

So when things get stressful, all I want to do is bake brownies...but I can't. Actually, it's probably good I can't, because I would weigh sooooo much by now if I made brownies every time I was stressed! Oh well, it would probably be worth it... :)

Baci e abbracci to everyone!