Far From the Home I Love

Lest you form the impression that my life here is all marble and baklava, things that I really miss about home:

one: doing laundry in machine washers and dryers. Putting clothes into a machine and having them be clean and dry about an hour and a half later, with a minimum of intervention by you and being able to do something else for that time and not worry about it. Not having to manually wring out all of your clothes. The feel of fabric fresh out of the dryer, a very different hand than stiff sun dried fabric.

two: ice cream that doesn't cost a ridiculous amount. I've had gelato here that was 2.50 euro for the smallest size.

three: spicy foods. Greek food is tasty, don't get me wrong, but they're not really into heat. If I thought that my spice tolerance was diminishing at Haverford, I have a feeling that my tastebuds are going to be in for a real surprise when I get back to the States.

four: being able to understand overheard conversations on the street and elsewhere.

five: peanut butter. They have it here, but, like ice cream, it's ridiculously expensive.

six: lawns and other green places. Similarly, my cedars and cherry trees.

seven: large libraries with collections not limited to items of classical and Greek interest, including a decent amount of fiction.

eight: club meetings and other extracurricular activities.

nine: bodies of water, even those as small as the duckpond, and the smell of fresh water. Granted, I could remedy this by taking the Metro to Piraeus, but that's not really the same.

ten: family and friends (is there a difference?) Goes without saying, but this is what I miss more than anything else.