Pages

November 28, 2012

Things I miss about America

I miss being surrounded by people who all speak languages I understand. I miss eavesdropping on conversations in English or hell, Spanish. I miss being able to make an offhand comment to the person next to me and have them understand it and possibly become my new best friend. I miss being able to understand all verbal announcements and signs.

I miss my best friends. I miss having a phone that receives action every day, from multiple people. I miss being in the same time zone and being able to call a friend at noon and have it be noon for them too. I miss having guy friends who aren't just friends' boyfriends. I miss having so many friends that I can pick ones to hang out with based on my mood. I miss having friends who'd just meet me at the bar at the drop of a hat for no reason.

I miss organizations that are organized and follow rules. I miss shops being open for the same steady hours all the time. I miss the subways and their schedules and convenient routes and that map I basically have memorized. I miss contracts meaning something and wasta meaning nothing. I miss the predictability of American politics and government.

Tomorrow my mom is coming to visit for about a week. I don't know how to show her how different it is here without sounding pessimistic. "Hey, look at how absurdly impossible it is to communicate with our extremely rude taxi driver!" is not the proper way to phrase that novelty, you know?

4 comments:

  1. Aww, indeed there's no place like home. My mom wants me to study abroad next year, and those things you mentioned got me nervous. I'll be missing my place so much. Well, hopefully you'll get used to the hang of things soon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. *hugs* I think that you'll find a job in America again soon! In fact, you even have the experience that would be perfect for a medical school essay that my friends are working on, which I think is really good for your resume.

    Your mom is probably with you right now. One week is short, so I think that she'll enjoy the novelty and not have to deal with the annoying things to much. But I'm sure that she'll be very proud of you for being able to hold up in the UAE.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can't imagine living in a place where I don't have working knowledge of the language--it just seems too stressful. You're rather strong, though, and have coped well in the UAE.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm agree with Chantelle; it must be near impossible to live in a place where you don't have a working knowledge of the language. It just seems like such a constant, uphill battle. I hope your mom enjoys her visit to Abu Dhabi!

    ReplyDelete