Happy Things

• Our Cmas tree with hand-me-down ornaments and blinking red and yellow star lights
• My Cmas lights in my room, even though the white ones went "poof" today (literally)
• My shower curtain installed after 3+ months!
• Hot water
• A microwave to use when we run out of gas and haven't heard the gas guy dinging by this afternoon (I don't recommend cooking eggs in a bowl in the microwave; they're edible but spongy)
• A fabulous community of friends, the kind that are worth hanging out with until 12:30 AM, even though I have language class at 8:00 AM the next morning and haven't yet done my homework (I did finish my homework after getting home)
• The hope of packages from home arriving
• New music
• Local friends to visit
• Line-dried laundry (I haven't seen a dryer here yet)
• Hooks in my room to hang my outwear on!
• A straightened room
• The blanket-so-heavy-you-have-to-drag-it-around that keeps me warm at night (it is truly cold inside at this time of year--no heat in the stone buildings)
• Gorgeous sunny weather outside!
• Reasonable taxi drivers
• Being surrounded by the language I am attempting to learn
• Mandy's hot chocolate
• Someone wanting the gift I brought to the white elephant gift swap (green star Cmas lights)
• Plenty of good reading material!
• A dinner of beans and bread, bought at the restaurant around the corner--under $3 to feed 3 people
• Talking to my family on Skype
• Chad's web cam's special effects--a city skyline, a rocket ship . . . they made me laugh aloud!

That I live here. Yes, I get homesick. I sneaked a peek at the web page for Bath & Body Works, just to see what was new . . . and I had to shut it down because it made me nostalgic for the perks of home. And of course I miss my family and friends far more than B & BW. But over and over again, I marvel at the privilege of being here. Sigh . . .