10 things...

These are the 10 things which I took for granted in America before we came back for our vacation a few weeks ago. We will start at the bottom...

#10 TACO BELL
Enough said, really. Oh and since when do they have new sauces? Fire Roasted and verde? Yum.

#9 WALMART
Ok, people had warned us that walking into a super Walmart would be extremely overwhelming. I welcomed it! But man oh man, they were right. The first time I walked in, I was with my mom and Aunt Judy. I just walked and walked, looked at everything and put nothing in my basket. I was just walking the aisles with my empty cart for quite a while. I hadn't been in a Walmart in almost 2 years, and I walked out with a greeting card and a bottle of sunsceen. I wanted everything and nothing. The food aisles were so overwhelming coming from our 2 half-aisles in Morogoro. I didn't know what to get, I didn't know what I needed. But no worries, I returned to walmart quite a few times before leaving and ended up filling my cart more than once. I guess I just needed to get back in the groove!

#8 THE INTERNET
A lot of our computer time is spent clicking "retry" on the internet. And then oh joy, we are connected for all of ten minutes before it kicks us off again...usually just enough time to pull up email and see that there is an email from someone that we would really like to read, but not long enough to actually pull it up to read it. Loading pictures...that is another story. Usually it takes anywhere between 10-20 minutes to load one picture. Many times I walk away to do something while they load and come back to see that it messed up somewhere in the middle. Perseverance is the name of the game. Well, at home I was able to load like 150 pictures on the internet in like 10 minutes flat. So yeah, we will miss the internet.

#7 THE MALL
I must admit, that we do have a "mall" in Dar es Salaam, however it's got about 3 stores and you can walk from one end to the other in about 45 seconds. So coming from that to the mall of GA is quite a step up. Me and Nate walked the mall a couple times. We also walked Perimeter mall when we went with my parents to the Cheesecake Factory (yum!) We ended up walking from one end to the other only going inside about 2 stores. What do you do when you want everything in every store and you are on a missionary salary? You look.

#6 HOLDING NATHAN'S HAND
In Tanzanian culture, it's really inappropriate to show any type of public display of affection. You don't see men and women holding hands, much less hugging or kissing in public. It's extremely taboo. So, in an effort to respect the culture, me and Nate never even hold hands...so it was sooo nice to just be able for Nate to put his arm around me and for everyone to see that we really do love each other. Alot.

#5 TARGET
I remember quite fondly my re-entrance to Target for the first time. As I walked from the parking lot through the automatic double doors, with the air conditioning blowing my hair, I felt like I was walking into a little bit of paradise. Almost like a scene from a movie. I took a deep breath and exhaled loudly as people around me gave little looks...I didn't care, I had forgotten the smell of popcorn as you enter the store and just the amazing feeling that comes over you when you enter a Target store. The most pleasurable shopping experience there is. You don't get that in Africa, ladies and gentlemen.

#4 DIET COKE
I cannot even guess at how many gallons of diet coke I must have drank in 3 weeks time. From the moment my parents showed up at the airport with a cold can in a cooler in the car, to my last taste at the airport before boarding the plane...ahhh. I've had a few withdrawl headaches since our return, but it was oh-so worth it. I love diet coke!

#3 DRIVING
Not just driving, but the whole idea that there are actually some traffic rules, and yes, you are actually supposed to follow them. Coming from the world of of two speed limits (50 and NOT 50), speeding through red lights and stop signs, and cutting off anyone who gives you the opportunity...it was a breath of fresh air to be around sane drivers!

#2 FRIENDS
I was so blessed to get to see so many of my friends! There was even a surprise guest who was not supposed to show up for a few more weeks. My good friend Kim and her husband brought a beautiful baby girl into the world just 3 days before we flew out. Makinley is absolutely beautiful and although I couldn't hold her (she had to stay in the lights for jaundice) I got to see her precious face in person and that was such a blessing! She is the newest arrival to the math girls. Love them!

Also, I made a short day trip to birmingham with Adrienne, Campbell, and Zoe to see Jenny (and Lyla). This was an extra special day because Jenny was not able to make the trip all the way home since Lyla Rae was scheduled to arrive anytime (since then she has made her entrance and is absolutely beautiful...more on that later!!) But we met at Target and spent several hours just walking the aisles (talking more than shopping). At one point Jenny disappeared with Zoe and were nowhere to be found for quite a while, but when they showed up, they were both all smiles (I'm pretty sure Jen gave Zoe a little sippy-sip from her starbucks!) Then we went on to Panera for lunch and catching up until we all had to head back. It was such a very special time and I'm sooo thankful Jenny was able to meet us and sooo thankful that Adrienne and Campbell took the trip with us. Cam and Zoe had quite a fun roadtrip in the backseat together!

I was also able to see some of my very best friends from college: Georgette, Robin, Leah, Kristin, and Lauren. We all met at Moes and got cheesecake afterwards. It was so much fun and an exciting time for everyone. Lauren had just gotten married and was back from her honeymoon, we were back from Africa, Georgette is pregnant, and Robin just got engaged and she all surprised us with her ring that day! It was funny because when I showed up and hugged her, I specifically looked at her hand to see if she had a ring yet. Later, while we were eating she must have slipped it on her hand and then she went into this whole story about how they went to New York and it was such an awesome trip. And Kristin made the comment like "Wow, that would have been a great time to propose!" And out comes her hand and there is the ring! So cool!

#1 FAMILY

Oh man...yes, this is number one. I miss my family! My mom let me borrow her car to go everywhere and anywhere, she babysatt and fixed us all sorts of goodies. My dad (admittedly, a baby hog) held Zoe constantly, read her books, and rocked her to sleep. And my sister and Michael brought Zoe presents seriously every time they came to the house. And Zoe, of course, loved all the attention and everyone doting on her... she's like her dad.