Things I'll Miss About France/Europe!

To follow up my angsty Things I Miss About California post...


Food: (it's probably possible to find/make most of these, but the fact that they won't be the norm is what I'll miss)
-Desperados beer (pretty sure it isn't available in the states, but if you know of a place that sells it, TELL ME)
-Lardon
-Baguette
-Goat cheese/Chèvre
-Kebabs (not the ones on a stick, that would be a brôchette)
-Balsamic Vinegar and Oil on everything and anything
-Formules and Menu Midis
-Wine at every meal (ok, bit of an exaggeration on my part, but it is the norm)
-Jambon serrano
-Variety of fromages 
 

Activities:
-Drinking and walking on the quai
-Going to the market to buy my fruits and veggies
-Pretending like I actually need to study
-Finding new ways to reject my many street admirers
-Speaking French, Hearing French, Reading French, Learning French
-Drinking alcohol (not just the drinking, but the whole go out to a bar and be social part of it. I'll rant on alcohol later.)
-Traveling, and easy access to cheap flights and hostels
-Couchsurfing
-Having friends over for lunch at dinner
-Experimenting with new foods and being creative with the things I make


Things:
-Architecture
-This apartment (yeah, even with the leak and all the quirks)
-Tramway
-French people (they're just so nice!)
 -Outdoor and open air markets
-Quinconces carnivals, fairs, circuses


There is so so much more that I have taken advantage of and I am now realizing how I will truly miss it all. This whole time I've been thinking about going back to California and that it will be so great to see my family and friends again, meet my new niece and nephew, eat mexican food, etc etc but I haven't thought very much about what I am leaving behind. I've really embraced French culture this year and although I don't feel like I've changed too much personality wise, I have grown up a lot and learned so much about the world, as well as experiencing all that I have. Talking with a new French friend today about his upcoming summer in Berkeley, I remembered how new and exciting everything was when I first came, and how Europe has lost a little bit of its novelty for me. Before it was this strange land that I had a whole year to discover, but now it has become my home and the place that has opened my eyes to so many new ideas. I have a little less than two months left so I won't go into it much now, but I'm kind of sure that a lot of my future blog posts will be me going deeper into these thoughts. 

I went to the open air market near my house today and bought a grapefruit (.50€), some apples(2.+€), some bean sprouts (1.50€), jambon serrano (7€), chunk (.5kg) of delicious bread (2.80€), and a fillet of fish (3.23€)(for Seafood Sunday 4, except this time I'm making it) and it was all so fresh and so well priced! I'm sure I spent less than twenty euro on it all.  For lunch I made two small sandwiches with butter, bean sprouts, jambon serrano, balsamic vinegar, and vegetable oil on fresh bread. Yum. I talk about food a lot, huh? I've become such a foodie...