Things I will miss about the U.S.

No doubt, I am very excited to go to China next month. I've been planning it and saving for it for what seems like forever. But I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't miss things about America.

Of course the biggest thing will be my family. My parents and my sister are all back on Oahu, I've been in Utah for a year now and it's been hard being that far away from people I care about so much. Another year away from them is going to be hard. Tay's family is all here in Utah and we usually see them at least 2-3 times per month. I'm going to miss them, especially Tay's younger brothers who are a ton of fun.

Another thing I'm going to miss even if my health won't is western food. In n Out burgers and Cheesy Gordita crunches from Taco Bell are sadly unavailable in Asia. The weirdest thing, in my opinion, that I missed last time was americanized Chinese food, there is no such thing as orange chicken in China.

Netflix, because of copyright laws Netflix isnt available outside of the US and Canada. China makes up for it (almost) by its cheap selection of bootleg DVDs but its a pale comparison.

I'm going to miss how easy it is to communicate at places like the grocery store, things like "where can I find the salt?" And "can you tell me where the bathroom is?" Are incredibly difficult when your mandarin is about as good as an 18month old baby.

In general I couldn't be more excited, but its human nature to miss what you can't have. I'm sure I'm going to have a great time, but I'm holding my breath and crossing my fingers until they build a Taco Bell in Beijing.

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