Things I am [not] looking forward/back to/on

Things I’m looking forward to about going home:

• Burritos
• Friends and family (sorry guys, it was a close call but you came in second to burritos)
• Being able to get around easily (i.e. drive)
• Starting Graduate school
• Barbecue (Piggy Blues BBQ to be exact)
• Cooler and less humid weather
• Finding my old clothing that is not in tatters
• Buying underwear my size (I don’t know if it’s my big booty, my thunder thighs, or something else, but I am NOT Malaysian proportioned in the swimsuit zone)
• Live Music, theater, dance, arts of all kinds
• Beer
• Toilet paper
• Potable tap water
• ELCA-style worship
• Recycling
• MPR

Things I’m going to miss in Malaysia

• Jireh Home
• Rommy, the driver for Jireh Home and my closest friend
• 100 Plus (an isotonic soda), Tuaran Noodles, crazy fresh fruits (I just ate another durian–mmm…), satay, laksa, nasi lemak, etc.
• Ridiculously beautiful foliage
• Ridiculously beautiful scenery, like Mt. Kinabalu and the South China Sea
• Cheap and frequent buses
• The relaxed pace of life
• Having tea time everyday
• Taekwondo
• Speaking Malay
• Meeting wild animals on a daily basis–herons, quails, horses, snakes, geckos, monitor lizard, dozens of other creatures I can’t identify
• Dirt cheap restaurants–meal and drink for $3
• Being called ‘Brother’ at Jireh Home
• Malaysian-style prayer
• Devotions every night at Jireh Home
• The most beautiful running route I’ll probably ever get to run on a regular basis
• Not having to tip
• Hanging my clothes up outside to dry
• Beaches
• Engrish (for example, “No paint, no gains.”)
• Not having allergies
• Night markets
• Pre-paid phone plans
• No carpeting

Things I’m not looking forward to in America

• Country music (I have not heard a single country song in 11 months and it has been glorious)
• Wastefulness
• Justin Beiber madness
• Vampire mania (what’s the deal with this fad???)
• TV
• Being super busy
• Still not having universal health care
• Email forwards
• Fox News, pundits, Sarah Palin
• Everything being expensive
• Social pressures in many aspects, such as dress
• People still debating Global Warming (it’s here folks, let’s deal with it)
• Car obsession
• Paranoia about not getting sued
• Guns
• Drugs

Things I’m not going to miss in Malaysia

• The climate and its consequences: constant sweating, frequent skin infections, constant bathing, heat rash, acne, sunburn, not being able to be outside from 10am-4pm.
• Justin Beiber madness (he’s everywhere!)
• Cockroaches
• Rice
• Being called ‘Orang Putih’–’White Person’
• Being honked or yelled at on the road (though it’s always friendly, sometimes I’m just not in the mood).
• Bucket baths
• Water and/or electricity going out
• Difficulty to communicate with people back home
• Dogs chasing and barking at me (though the never ever try to bite; they’re just annoying)

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