preemptive nostalgia

(on-going, not comprehensive)

Things I most definitely will not miss when I leave Thailand next year:

street dogs barking under my window all night
sweating through the middle of the night
giant cockroaches in my bathroom
sunburns
chunks of unidentifiable meats in my soup
plastic shoes
dirt dirt dirt
heat rash
doing laundry by hand
year-round mosquitoes
ad trucks with giant speakers
spending half my life on overcrowded buses

Things I most assuredly will miss:

green mangoes
old men in plaid skirts
chilies for breakfast
jackfruit
people telling me I'm beautiful all the time
making happen whatever I want to do
sleeping in when I want
nescafe in plastic bottles
$2 red snapper off the grill in the street
monsoons
geckoes
friends who show up out of the blue to take you out for noodles
beach vacations for under $50
fermented fish
rickshaws
children who bow
never being cold
the kids next door
organic foods a given
people piled into the backs of pickup trucks banging drums and gongs,
wearing loud shirts, drinking whiskey at 9 in the morning
an extensive affordable bus system
spending half my life traveling around, seeing the country

Things I don't really miss but will appreciate when I have them back:

washing machine
clothes and shoes that last more than 2 months
kitchen sink
drinkable tap water
an art scene
traffic laws
bagels
snow (seasons)
good chocolate (Cadbury eggs)
good beer
the library
indoor meat market, sans flies
frozen dinners (PIZZAS!!)
incandescent lighting
NPR
socks
book stores
dusky all-night cafes
coffee shops (Steep 'n' Brew!!!!)
city

Though this is my second time around with this business, I seem to feel more of a general lightheartedness than expected. I'm drawing on the confindences I've built upon the failures of last year. And working within these strange parameters is becoming easier, even familiar. Certain individuals have most assuredly made the second year more tollerable. Ironic that that certain little peach lives on the other side of the planet. I'm still not used to this juice in my system, but we're working with it. Stay sane, stay busy, and it will all be over soon.

How sad.