things I miss about the states

This Week In Instagram Vol.5

It had been unbelievably gorgeous here in the Netherlands this week. In fact, it might have even been a little too hot. This is coming from a girl who was born in Florida and grew up in Georgia. But in the Deep South, we believe in air conditioning! Which is something I've discovered Europeans do not take much faith in. I've met some great new people, traveled a bit, hid from the world because I was sick of traveling. And, I took some great pictures.

On Monday, I helped out a new batch of journalism students with the same project I helped out with back in March. And, I took some time to hang out in my favorite building in Utrecht. The Centraal Branch of the Library. There is some lovely stained glass in there, including this window.

I like to call these flowers which are actually weeds, Dutch Morning Glories, because they disappear as the day goes on.

I had my second Inburgering meeting this week. The office was about a 25 minute walk from my house. It would have been faster by bike, but as a novice, I make it a point to not bike when I don't know where I am going. Walking also allowed me to take in the scenery more. I discovered this park on my way. It has the mounds that make it interesting because, The Netherlands is flat. This is De Hoge Weide Park.

I feel really bad for my really fluffy cat Atticus, I am sure he is hot. This week, he has been using his paw to open the door to my wardrobe. He then gets stuck in there, but he seems to be happy about it. I think the material it is made of stays cool, so he likes it. Or he is just a freak!

Like I said, it was gorgeous here this week!

We don't have a balcony because we live on the bottom. We also don't have a garden, so we have no outdoor entertaining space to speak of. We do however have garden walls which are just wide enough for my butt. This week, I have taken to sitting outside on the stone with a glass of wine and a book. I'm reading The Discovery of Heaven for my Utrecht Book Club. It is a very popular Dutch novel, but we are reading it in English. Also, notice my awesome foot tan line.

Yes, I live here! Utrecht's Dom Tower looks magnificent in the sunshine!

Here is the list of 13 Things I took for Granted whilst living in the US.
My 2nd Inburgering interview didn't go as I planned.
I updated my About Me Page.

How was your week?

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American in Europe

13 Things I Took for Granted

I love living here in Utrecht, but some things the US just does better! Here are some of the things that I took for granted about the US.

Shopping-

Prices, everything besides food is cheaper in the United States. I don't think it has that much to do with the exchange rate either.
Mega stores! I really miss one stop shopping. While specialty stores are really quaint, it takes a long time to know where to go for what. I miss knowing that I could get it at Target!
Store hours, I respect that people need to spend time with their families. But if you discover that at 3pm on a Sunday that you need a calculator for a test first thing Monday morning, you better hope you live near a major train station that has a book store, because otherwise you are shit out of luck. Unless it is a grocery store, the store will close by 6pm on a weekday, unless it is Thursday when it might be open until 8. Open for four hours on Saturday and closed on Sunday. It is anyone's guess as to when it will be opened.

Food-

I miss a good cheeseburger, I haven't found a good one just yet.
Mac and Cheese requires some heavy searching for cheddar cheese.
If you forgot something, you have to bike all the way back to get it!
Being able to bake a cake when I want to, my oven is the size of a microwave.
Taco Bell, Chick fil a, Sonic,Zaxby's,Waffle House, Taco Mac, Marlows.

Odds and Ends-

Magazines, I miss my subscriptions! Subscriptions do not save you any money here, and magazines are expensive.
3 ringed binders, paper here has holes all up and down the side.
Office supply stores.
Stand up vacums. Seriously, why are all vacuums the kind with long hoses that you have to drag all over the house?

What did you take for granted about your home country?

Image Some rights reserved by Guillaume Capron

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