Missing....

Taiwan is so fun. But being here reminds me of all the joys of being home. Wanna know what I miss?
1. Friends and family - being around people I know who know me, laughing and relaxing with them, and feeling generally connected.

2. Living with half my brain tied behind my back. If I zone out of anything here (church meetings, where we are on the train, etc.) chances are, I will miss something completely. I have to focus to achieve comprehension. I'm tired of focusing! (No wonder small children need a nap!)

3. Autumn in Utah. Cooler temperatures, the turning of the leaves, fire pits and the smell of smoke, fall decorations in our house, getting out the winter clothes, sleeping with the windows open and waking up cold, shorter days, weather that justifies a mug of almond vanilla steamed milk or hot chocolate. Ahhh, sigh. I miss autumn.

4. Baking. I have no oven here. No "brains." No breakfast cookies. No fresh pies. No peanut butter cookies. No rolls hot out of the oven with the soups I begin to crave with cooler temperatures.

5. Garbage Cans. They just don't have garbage cans anywhere here! It makes me want to leave thank you notes on public garbage cans back at home: "Thank you for emptying this garbage. I know it's your job, but that you do it means I don't have to walk around carrying my trash all day, and that is so nice. Bless you!"

6. Sidewalks. I know my town isn't big enough to have them, but there the streets are wide and mostly untraveled. You would think that planners would plan a safe place for so many pedestrians in a large city with so many varied vehicles. You would be wrong.

7. Cool rain. I love that it rains here. I wish it cooled things down like it does at home. Rain here just makes things muggier.

It's been 4 inside and rainy days as of today. I'm feeling a bit melancholy. Maybe I just need to think about what I will miss about Taiwan when I am home and make sure I fill my days with plenty of THOSE things. Papaya milk from 7-11, here I come!

PS: How could I forget:
8. Toilets that flush toilet paper!!!!!!!!!! This is my 4th trip to Taiwan and I may be our family's worst at remembering to drop what I have used to wipe with in the garbage provided in each stall (and even in private homes). Yes, gross.

9. (Remembered while posting today) Water served with every meal, and clean water from the tap. Post-typhoon, people are especially paranoid as flooding CAN cause further water-purification issues. Our apt has a filter picture we use, so we're rather cavalier about the water even after the typhoon. Famous last words, right?

10. Carpet! I'm on the hunt for any sort of padding I can get my hands on for stretching, or even sitting on something a little more inviting than cold, hard tile. Ah, sigh, what I wouldn't give for a yoga mat. Which brings me to....

11. Walmart. If you know my family, you know we have a hate/strongly-dislike relationship with Sam Walton and his stores. NOT huge fans. Who could ever imagine Q and I would be pining for a big box store we knew and could get everything we could possible need at - cheap prices for low quality goods and all!