A few of my favorite things...

I'm sitting in the Continental Lounge and I can't believe it is already time to head back to India. This week feels like it has flown by and actually seems a bit surreal. It was not nearly enough time to see everyone I wanted to see and spend time with but I'm grateful for the time I had and that I did get to see or talk to so many of my friends. Also, a big thank you to those of you who let me stay with you or offered me a place to stay in Baltimore - it is really weird not having my place to go home to at the end of the day.

A few people have asked me what I miss the most while away. When I first left, I had no idea what I would find, wouldn't find and what I would miss. While I can find almost everything in India (at a price, of course) here's a list of a few of my favorite things that I will miss most.

First, and foremost is my niece, Seva. She has grown so much in the last three months and just has the most amazing smile. Her whole face lights up and each and every time I see it, it captures my heart. So while I do get to visit with her on skype, it is no comparison to seeing her face light up when I say Good Morning to her.

Next are my family and peeps. I cannot tell you how much I miss being able to meet up for a glass of wine or a bite, share some friendly gossip, complain about work and just hear about all of the wonderful day to day things that are happening. The time difference between India and the US of 10.5 hours (yes, there is a 1/2 hour in there - that's just India) makes it tough for me to really talk to people during the week, so I'm lucky if I can catch up with anyone by phone. I'm always happy to wake up to a new email and hear what's been happening. Even if it is just that you had a crappy day at work.

Other than those things - the things I miss the most in no particular order are:

1. Long Hot Showers - I totally miss being able to lounge in the shower knowing that the hot water is going to run out for a long time. Now, I will go back to timing my showers to five minutes or less. I guess it's a good thing I cut 10 inches off my hair, who knows how much time that will save me in the shower.

2. Orange juice - the funny thing is that I don't drink OJ a lot, but now that I can't find it - well, there's stuff that is passed off as orange juice, but it doesn't even taste like the stuff from concentrate - I find that I crave it all the more.

3. Good wine at decent prices - as many of you know, I enjoy a good glass of wine (or two), however, in India, the local wines (of which there are only two vintners - Grover and Sula) are not great (ok, they are barely drinkable) and I guess I've become enough of a wine snob over the years, that I can't really drink bad wine, and I have a really hard time spending $50 for a bottle of so so wine - so I'm "stuck" drinking vodka. or beer.

4. Sandwiches - I was at Mount Washington Tavern this week, just a normal everyday bar/restaurant, and I wanted to order about a dozen of their sandwiches - burgers, cuban sandwiches, roast beef, philly cheesesteaks (which I normally will only eat at McGerk's or Pat's), turkey subs. I could go on, but my mouth is watering.

5. Salads - I miss lettuce. Enough said.

6. Safe drinking water - I am always on alert and have to ask the bartender if the ice cubes in my drink are made from filtered water. Alcohol unfortunately does not kill everything.

7. Snow and the holiday season - I'm really going to miss seeing snow out my window - I hope you have a snowy white Christmas and post lots of pictures for me to see. This is one of my favorite seasons and while I did make some lasagna, scones and cookies while I was here - I will miss having the big Xmas dinner with the family and presents under the tree.

8. I would miss coffee - but I have packed 8 pounds of it in my bag (along with two bottles of sugar free flavored syrup) - there are certain things you just shouldn't live without.

9. Driving - I really do miss the freedom of driving myself around.

10. Cheese - we eat so many different types of it - most Indians eat only paneer. Can you imagine a life without mozzarella and provolone? What about whiz?

So, I guess that's my top ten. What do you miss most when you are away from home.