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Everywhere I have traveled and lived, I have adopted my favorite things . . . foods, places, people, etc. Oh, how I miss them when I don’t have them. Oh, how I enjoy them when I do!
Today, I’m in heaven . . . on earth! My heart and my stomach are experiencing pure bliss as I sit in my car right now eating a maple-frosted donut from Dunkin’ Donuts and drinking an ice cold Dr. Pepper . . . LARGE for $1.00 . . . from McDonald’s.
I don’t do this often, but when I do, my stomach screams “I love America!”
Here’s my list of “All the Things I Will Miss” when I leave the U.S. again.
Maple Donuts and Dr. Pepper
When I step off the plane onto US soil, these are two of the things that I can’t wait to get my hands on. I have been craving maple-frosted donuts and Dr. Pepper for days, weeks, months, sometimes even years.
Sometimes, I even dream about them.
On several occasions, I have even asked my mother to stop by a Quik-Trip convenience store in Missouri to enjoy a maple long-john and Dr. Pepper “for me.” I hope that somehow I can vicariously taste my favorite treats through her.
I don’t really believe in that, but you get the picture!
Right now, I can hear the angelic voice of Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music.” She is singing, “These are a few of my favorite things . . .”
I remind myself of all of the foods, places, people, activities, etc. that I most miss about my home country while I am living abroad. The list is long of those things that I just can’t find outside of the United States. If I do, it just doesn’t compare. It’s not the real deal! Worse yet, it’s so expensive to buy my foreign favorites . . . IF I can even find them! I’m so sick from the cost that I can no longer enjoy the treat.
From America,
“These are a few of my favorite things . . .”
My American family, my special friends from grade school who have endured across time and distance,
Maple donuts, Dr. Pepper, Root Beer, Kansas City BBQ, strawberry Twizzlers, Taco Bell’s chicken burritos,
Burger King’s long chicken sandwich with cheese, ICE cold sodas! (In Europe, you may get 1-2 ice cubes.),
Hazelnut coffee creamer, real creamy peanut butter that doesn’t cost $10 a jar,
Winstead’s hamburger joint on the Kansas City Plaza, 1000s of cereals to choose from,
baseball games, American football games, freedom to worship
my favorite stores: Kohls, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Ross, Walmart
Wherever I have lived, I have always adopted my favorite things that I miss whenever I leave that land.
This morning, for example, I got out the jar of generic Nutella from my favorite discount store in France, Lidl. My 5-year-old son, Pierre, wanted toast with chocolate and hazelnut spread to dip in his bowl of hot chocolate . . . his favorite French breakfast.
I scraped the bottom of the jar and realized that this was another part of our life in France that was almost gone . . . just like my favorite French loose-leaf teas from my best friends in France, my instant chicory coffee mix for my preferred hot morning beverage, and my special herbs and spices from Provence in southern France. Oh, the things that I miss from my life in France!
From France,
“These are a few of my favorite things . . .”
My French family, my special friends from around the world (France, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Syria, UK, USA . . . ), cultural diversity, hearing different languages,
Baguettes, fresh croissants, fresh pains o’ chocolat, amazing fresh pastries from the local bakery, Nutella chocolate and hazelnut spread,
Instant chicory coffee mix, Herbes de Provence (spices),
Fresh and reasonably priced fruit and veggies from the local markets,
Chicken bags (plastic bags full of spices that you buy for $1, put your raw chicken in the bag, close it up, put it in the oven . . . an hour later . . . taw daw! That’s my kind of cooking!),
Café o’ lait, reasonably priced raw nuts, inexpensive after-school activities for my kids,
My old house, public transportation at your doorstep (buses, trains, metros), riding bikes,
Walking everywhere, my favorite stores: Babou, Lidl, Aldi, Carrefour, big urban city life,
Professional soccer games, competitive soccer leagues for my children,
People who travel outside of their home country and culture, speak multiple languages
Real fashion, skinny jeans, great children’s parks on every street corner,
You can take your dog anywhere—into restaurants and stores, socialized medicine,
Duvet covers and wash mitts, hanging my laundry outside on the line.
From Morocco,
“These are a few of my favorite things . . .”
My Arab friends who adopted us as family, hot fresh, sweet mint tea,
Chicken s’fa (vermicelle noodles) with powdered sugar and cinnamon, chicken and apricot tajine, lamb and prune tajine,
Couscous of every kind, fresh, round “rhobes” bread from the communal oven,
Moroccan pastries covered in honey, m’simmon and b’rir crepes drenched in melted butter and honey,
Avocado milk, very inexpensive fruit and veggies from the local markets,
Fresh fish, fruit, and veggies on a donkey cart coming to the house weekly,
Speaking Arabic, burping “legally” after meals, hearing “Al-hamdu-lilah” (“Praise be to God!), surfing, living next to the beach,
Sitting and chatting with local friends for hours with no place to go, McDonald’s on the beach, Sahara Desert,
Camel rides, Atlas Mountains, the most friendly, beautiful people in the world, slow-paced lifestyle,
Street soccer using plastic bottles for a ball and rocks for a goal, cheap and local “Crazy Park,”
Hanging my laundry on my roof-top terrace that overlooked the ocean,
Souks – local markets where you can find EVERYTHING! Arab music, Arab dancing, Arab weddings,
Bargaining in the markets and shop owners calling me a “Berber,” (descendants of the pre-Arab inhabitants of North Africa, known for their fine art of negotiation and bargaining), the ocean, sunshine and blue skies every day
“When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad . . . I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don’t feel so bad.” (Sound of Music-Julie Andrews)
—The Cultural Story-Weaver
Let’s Weave Cultures!
What do you miss most about your home country when you travel? What do you love and miss about some of the places you have visited or lived?
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures!” Write about them in the comment box below.
