Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Glad to be home

I’ve just moved back to Wisconsin this past Monday. I’ve been asked on my last day of work and my last day in Minneapolis what it was like. Like every other day I suppose, I don’t feel much of the change. It’s the same when I’ve left for long trips before. My last days of living in the Twin Cities I was able to go Swing Dancing, Salsa Dancing, visit the Gay 90s for the first time, and see a lot of good people for the last time. I have lots of plans while in Wisconsin for such a short time. In one month to the day I will be turning 24, and I will be in Georgia. I am so sad I will be in a foreign country with strangers rather than my family and Ann Leahy who shares my birthday with me. But then again, what’s so special about 24? I can rent a car now in some states, whoopee. Well for your procrastination pleasure I wrote a compilation of things I will miss and things I won’t so you have a better idea of what I’m about to face. Enjoy:

Things I will miss (Aside from the obvious family, friends, Daisy and Fox)

*Speaking the same language as the majority of people around me. After Haiti I didn’t think I’d be able to do that again, but at least this time instead of only one person around who speaks English, I’ll have at least 50 for the first three months. This is what I have to learn:





*Showers, I will be most likely taking bucket baths for the next two years.
*Washing machines, I will be hand washing everything.
*Treating animals like part of the family. Georgians seem to dislike dogs and its common practice to throw rocks at them; the dogs themselves because of this treatment are not nice. Mind you I’ll still probably get me a pet and be considered weird.
*Recycling. This will be hard for me.



*Easy access to Internet
*Laws against smoking. I celebrated when Minneapolis became smoke free. But Point isn’t so I have to deal with from here on out.
*Having a piano at hand. I doubt there will be an abundance of pianos in Georgia, so it looks like I’ll have to find a new outlet for music. I plan to buy a guitar or some instrument and learn it while I’m there. But I can kiss my muscle memory for the piano and all those tough pieces I’ve spent my life learning goodbye.
*Decent clothes. I only get to bring two suitcases of stuff that will be my clothes for the next two years, Georgian clothes I’ve heard are terrible and don’t last… given they don’t have washing machines and hand washing is pretty harsh on clothes. But if fellow PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) are saying this, it must be true.
*In regards to TV, I didn’t have cable for a while, but I will miss Heroes, Friends and Seinfeld reruns… but those can be sent to me. ;)













Georgians are apparently addicted to Latin soap operas…but apparently their MTV plays music.
*Exercising outdoors without people staring at me. Running and biking especially, Georgians think both are weird. And no more rollerblading which makes me very sad but there will be plenty of walking and hiking. This is what I'll feel like running in Georgia:



*Good old American medicines. I get sick frequently and I rely on my NyQuils and Sudafeds… I don’t know if I’ll get the same thing there.
*Freedom, I will be living with a host family so they will be over protective most likely and act like a second set of parents. I’ll have to let them know where I’m going and give times and dates and locations of where I’m going.
*NPR
*Privacy, PC is gossip city between volunteers and of course the native Georgians will always want to be entertaining or hang out.
*I'll miss this for sure:


Things I won’t miss:















*Wine, because I’ll have tons of the best made stuff with me in Georgia. They are a huge competitor to the famous French wines.




*All those negative emotions that come from filling up my car with gas. No more watching gas prices, watching my mileage, or rush hour (at least with me behind the wheel).

*Processed food! It’ll be all natural there, and the fruits just at your fingertips for cheap, like strawberries. Yum.



















*Spending a lot of money and feeling ripped off all the time. Things will be cheap and most likely the products won’t be of great quality, it evens out.
*Spending a ridiculous amount on medications, PC covers all that.
*Bratty spoiled kids. Just a hunch I like the kids there a lot.



















*My old erratic work schedule. I will finally be getting up at the same time everyday, perhaps I’ll recover from colds better.
*Biased news that only revolves around the U.S. Now I’ll only hear biased news about Georgia and surrounding regions like Turkey and Armenia. :)

*Republican ranting… I doubt I’ll meet many conservatives on this mission. (Sorry if I’ve offended anyone)










So please keep in touch and I'll do the same! My love to everyone and thanks for signing up to the blog. I'll try to be as entertaining as possible.
Love from your friend with too much time on her hands, Manda

5 comments:

Chelle said...

Haha

Chelle said...

Manda... Georgia is only in the south.. it's not that different from up here. But man, those hicks in the south write funny. (To those other than Amanda - I'm not this lame - it's a joke)

Unknown said...

ha ha ha!!!

Unknown said...

hey what georgia you're going? america asia of europe? i miss you!

Elise said...

Haha, people will probably think you're weird if you plan on exercise outdoors naked....