What I Miss About Home

My sister and I were talking on the phone and we discussed what we were going to do when we go back to the USA. Of course she is in Prague and I am in China so we want different things but there were others that we agreed on.

First, America really is diverse even in Nebraska which the most interesting thing about us is that it is filled with corn, our state mascot is a Corn Husker that is how much corn we have. However, in my city of 10,000 people we have a Chinese restaurant, Mexican restaurant, and Italian restaurant. In bigger cities like Lincoln or Omaha you get Ethopian, Portugese, Brazilian, Japanese, Chinese Hot Pot, and Polish food. There is so much variety to pick from!!
The number one food I miss the most is Mexican. There are a few Spanish restaurants in Shanghai and that is as close as I can get. I desperatly want a cheese enchililada with shredded chicken. Oh my gosh that sounds amazing.

There are also stores that China lacks. The one store I miss is Lush. I know that is very basic but LISTEN their Skin Drink moisturizer is the only thing that really works on my skin in the harsh cold Chinese winters. Plus the bathbombs smell like heaven. I just miss their products so much and plan on going at it when I go to America.
As a side note, when I went to Japan they did have a Lush store and I kind of went beserk in the store. I bought two containers of Skin Drink,  a giant bar of honey soap, and a lip scrub that was so amazing. I have already gone through the soup and one container of the moisturizer.

Another thing is that spices are really hard to find here. The only spices I found in my supermarket are the hot spicy kind. I can't find oregano, basil, curry, or even ginger! They only sell ginger root in most stores here which is ironic because in American-Chinese cooking there is a lot of ginger spice involved but in actual China it is hardly used. There is a foreign grocery store in my city called Metro that sells EVERYTHING. Ice cream, cheese, pasta, toys, and yes spices. After living here for almost 8 months I finally found ground cinnamon and ginger.

Other items that are hard to find include ovens, microwaves, clothes dryers, and butter knives. It took my co-worker several months of looking online to find a butter knife and she got me one as well. Have you ever buttered your bread with a sharp knife? It kind of sucks.
Most cooking in China is done over a wok or with a rice cooker. Refrigerators are even hard to find here since most people buy things that don't need to be kept cold. I am lactose intolerant so it wasn't a big deal for me but cheese, milk, and ice cream are rare and when they are available there might be two different brands to choose from.
Also, America is one of the few countries that doesn't hang dry their clothes. Everyone I know in America owns a clothes dryer and I have found zero people who own one in China or Europe. How do ya'll keep your clothes from going musty?

I go back to the states in about a month. After two months in America I will go back to China and get right back to teaching those cute kids. Before I go back to China, I think I will bring a few spices with me.