Ten things I'll miss about living in the U.S.

As I sift through my belongings and organize, discard, and box up books to leave the U.S. and emigrate to Brazil, I do a lot of thinking. I imagine what life will be like for E and me in Brasilia. Of course this makes me excited and anxious, but at the same time it gets me thinking about what I'm going to miss here. I know it's cliche (and maybe cheesy), but I read a quote the other day that said "don't count the days, make the days count". So, that is what I've decided to do. As I try to take advantage of what I have here, I've decided to compile a list of 10 things that I'll miss from the U.S. I'm not going to include family or friends on here because that is inevitable. I hope to add to the list as our departure date gets closer.

I will miss....

1. Giving my name to the hostess/host at a restaurant when asked who we're reserving a table for. I can't do this in Brazil because they look at me like I'm speaking Russian and then say "o que??" (what??) and then murder my name by pronouncing it like it's a dirty dirty word.

2. Speaking English. Now I am fluent in Portuguese. I speak it every day, and I actually enjoy speaking Portuguese (and am looking to getting back what I've lost from being away from Brazil for a few years). BUT, I'll miss not having to do any thinking when I go to a store or make a call (wait, I do live in the U.S. and as a result of outsourcing I speak to Indians when I have a problem with my laptop, but that's beside the point). Regardless of the fact that I'll be teaching in English, I'll miss speaking English to native English speakers everywhere I go. It's like I'm looking forward to speaking Portuguese, but at the same time I'll miss speaking English. Make sense?

3. Bubble Tea. Need I say more?
For those of you who have never had it, you're missing out. Big time. (see picture)

Bubble Tea

4. Having my own car. Although I'd prefer it if we were a one-car family, it is very convenient to have your own car. (We'll probably just have one car in Brazil).

5. MTV. I love MTV and all of the reality shows they play. For instance, I could watch episodes of "Jersey Shore" and "Teen Mom" again and again, regardless of how trashy they are or how much my husband complains. Brazil's MTV is b-o-r-i-n-g.

6. Shopping malls. Not that I shop that much, but I like the outlets and sales and variety of the stores I go to. I also like that no one bothers me when I walk into one.

7. The radio. I guess this kind of goes along with number 2. I'll miss listening to the radio programs that make me laugh on my way to work. In English. My culture. Jokes that only Americans would understand. The prank phone calls.

8. Redbox. Does anything like this exist in Brazil? (I haven't been there in 4 years so I hope that I'm not too off on what I'll miss from not being in the U.S.).

9. Black Americans. I work at a "black school", my (step) dad is black, and I have amazing co-workers and friends that are black.  I'll miss working with my black co-workers, their culture, their jokes,.... I haven't come across or met many black Americans all the years that I was in Latin America and I always missed them.

10. My phone plan. I'll miss my seemingly unlimited minutes and my unlimited text messages. Cell phones in Brazil are expensive (though so is my iPhone plan) and each minute is precious. I guess what I will really be missing then are my (animated) text messages.