First Inklings of Car-Sickness

Last night, after realizing I was actually homesick, I said to myself, "I'm not homesick, I'm car-sick. I miss my car."

I loved my car. Most people do. But mine had awesome sound. Not boom-box-break-your-neighbor's-windows-bass-at-3am sound, but good sound. I had a kickin after-market stereo (and included remote control) that made my stock Nissan Altima speakers sound like I was right there in the recording studio. The highs were crisp and clear, the mids were perfect, and the lows.. they were beautiful. If I played the right song and drove around slow enough, I could have been one of those people that everyone hates at 3am. I had a Sirius satellite radio that was hard wired into my stereo, complete with it's own remote control that was programmed with all my favorite channels. I had an iPod doc hard wired into my stereo, too - none of that FM amp tuner stuff for me. I even had a radar detector hard wired directly into my car's electronics. I had a two-way security system that let me make sure my doors were locked up to a mile away and out of sight-range. I had a trunk that would fit my life, and a back seat that was like Mary Poppin's bag - anything seemed to fit in it, regardless of size. It was only the base model Altima, but I swear the engine had something extra in it. I'm out of the country now, I can say this - With that car, I beat people at green lights who were really trying, and I was just having fun.

But it's gone now. My awesome dark gray Base Model 2.5L Nissan Altima. With the University of Florida Alumni plate in front, and the University of Florida license plate decoration in the back surrounding my real University of Florida license plate. And yea, I can have all that back when I return to the US in a few years with enough money to start my own business by the beach, but I miss it now.

I also miss steak. I miss eating it, but I also miss not being able to order it. Sure, I can order 'steak' here. But it comes looking like a heated-up frozen hamburger patty - the kind you see in the freezer section at Sam's Club, not the kind that looks oh-so-delicious that they probably serve at Outback, even if I actually GO to the Outback Steakhouse here. And the kicker is that when I order the 'steak' and that's all I get, it's still roughly $40 USD.

And I miss those yummy chocolate chip cookies that the Publix bakery makes so very fresh every day. Real cookies are hard to come by here. Sure, you can buy cookies, but they're made with rice flour. And I can buy all the ingredients to make my own cookies, but I don't have an oven. Or even a microwave. The only cookies I can make are rice-crispy treats, but I haven't been successful in finding any marshmallows OR rice crispies.

On the upside, they do have real Oreo cookies here. And they are the real deal. I even wrote Kraft an email, to which they so wonderfully replied:

Hi Kate,

Thank you for visiting http://www.kraftfoods.com/.

I'm glad to hear your nice comments about our Oreos and will share them with our staff. We're proud of our reputation for excellence and work hard to maintain it. We're continually exploring new food developments and are very optimistic about the future of food production. Our pledge is to continue to successfully build on our past achievements far into the future.

It was great hearing from you, and remember we're always updating our site so visit us again soon!

Kim McMiller
Associate Director, Consumer Relations

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I currently live in South Korea, and I just got back from my local mart with a purchase of Oreos and they are exactly the same as they are at home. :)  I just wanted to write Kraft an email and tell you how much I appreciate being able to buy Oreos and have a little taste of home all the way on the other side of the world. 

I thought that was nice of them.

I've found real Pringles, too. I just have to buy the tiny lunch-size container with only 24 chips in it, but they're real. (If you tasted the ones they sell in the normal-size container, the ones that are made in Malaysia, the ones they try to pass off as real Pringles, you'd be on your way to the post office right now to send me a care package, but not before stopping at the grocery store to pick up some Pringles.)

I am starting to learn more and more Korean. I've finally learned my alphabet. It's quite simple actually. Now I can tell if a word is upside down or not, and I can actually read what it says. Understanding it most times is another idea completely separate from being able to read it, but at least I can read it. I was so happy the night I left the ketchup bottle out and decided to try and read it before putting it away. "Toh-mah-toh-pah-ee-suh-tuh. "I was so excited. Ask my mom and dad - I translated it just before they started a video chat with me. I kept saying it over and over and over...

There are good, great and spectacular things about Korea, as there are about most places. And I love that I live here. It's an experience in life and in myself. And I came here for the right reasons. I want to stay, I want to keep traveling, I want to live in other countries that are foreign to me. But right now, I would also like a little bit of home. I would like to go to the store and make small-talk with the person in front of me. I would like to wear a tank top outside my apartment without everyone staring at me for thinking I'm a prostitute. I would like to be able to drive myself to the park that's just out of walking distance from me instead of taking a taxi. I would like to be able to pay for something without having to search for the total amount on their computer screen because I can't understand them when they tell me how much my total is. I would like to eat something made with wheat flour. I would like to be able to read the entire label of a food product. I would like to be able to buy jewelry that is made with regulations in mind (for example, that all sterling silver products sold in the USA must, by law, have 'sterling silver' or '.925' or '925' stamped somewhere on the product, or else it's not really sterling silver and will most likely turn my finger green). I would like to be able to go shopping within a 10 mile radius of where I live and buy an article of clothing that fits me without having to order things from home. I would like to use a clothes dryer.

All of these things will most definitely lead me to appreciate them even more once I am back in the USA and have them all again. But right now, as I'm sure is perfectly normal, I miss them. And I'm okay with that.