things i miss in the states.

in no particular order:

1. funny american tv shows. i was given office season 3 for christmas right before i came to spain, which has surprisingly been a huge blessing. on bored nights i've been watching commentary, deleted scenes, other special features. it's such a funny show. i miss that kind of thing in the US, good entertainment. the tv here leaves something to be desired. i'm missing all my arrested development dvds, conan o'brien, the occasional family guy episode, i even miss leno. heck, i would take even letterman at this point if it was offered to me. that's how bad the tv is here.
   
2. one dollar bills. as previously mentioned, they don't have a one euro bill, and it's very upsetting to me. i miss having regular greenbacks that fit in my wallet the way they should.
3. my backpack. i'm rockin' one of those side saddle briefcase-ish bags, which holds my computer, and was a gift from an eternally generous human being, so i appreciate it a ton, it's just not the greatest for more than my computer. i miss the two-shoulder strap; doesn't make my shoulders as sore. who knows though, maybe i'll come back with some seriously ripped delts. that all being said, with the saddle bag i can be much more sure of myself regarding pickpockets. that's a plus.
4. fountain pop. this is really killing me. they only have coke and pepsi here, and pepsi only at grocery stores or kiosks. sucks. and if you order pop at a restaurant, you get a little sixteen oz. glass bottle that costs you like two euros. and no free refills. even at burger king the other day they wouldn't give me a free refill. ridiculous. i just want a gigantic 44 oz mountain dew. i miss that a ton.
5. american music culture. more on that in an upcoming post.
6. colleen. obviously.
7. on that note, just more people that i recognize than this group of fifteen students from uni. i took for granted the variety of people i knew that were around cedar falls until i only had one or two around here. sucks.
8. and my family. duh.
   
9. two 12-hour cycles throughout the day. i don't like that i have class until 21:00. that just sounds stupid.
10. 110/120 voltage. i have to fumble around with all these dumb adaptors and converters. very obnoxious.
11. my comforter/pillow. both incredible.
12. driving cars. granted i would not want to drive here, i still miss it a ton.
13. hanging out at friend's houses/apts. they don't do that here for some reason. maybe it's different for adults, but for the younger people, you don't have someone over to your house, everybody meets out. like out on the town. meaning at a bar/restaurant/park. the park is the only public place where you don't have to buy something to be allowed in. which sucks. i just want a panera or something where i can sneak in, use their wireless, and just sit for hours and not have to pay for anything. it really sucks not being able to say "hey let's go to ____'s house and hang out for awhile." it's "i know it's really windy and cold outside but i don't want to buy a 2 euro non-refillable coke so let's go to the park." terrible.
14. MILK. i just want a tall cold glass of the stuff. no one drinks real milk here. it's all stuff that can be kept in the cupboard rather than in the fridge. gross, i know. and cereal, oh how i long for a big bowl of quaker oatmeal squares.
15. movies in english. j.j. abram's cloverfield comes out this friday, and i would love to see it, but unfortunately the only theaters they have here in spain will show movies in spanish. major bummer. and i know there are a lot of movies that will come out this spring that i will miss. oh well.

could be worse i guess. i could have been born here.

-jon