ten things i miss

1. my bed.
-The beds here are the worst I've ever slept on.  The pillows are about three inches thick and harder than rocks, and the mattress is worn so thin that every spring stabs through and pokes you while you sleep.  Not to mention we don't actually have a flat sheet, just a fitted sheet and duvet, sans cover.  Ew.  I am seriously going to go to Ikea and get a nicer pillow and maybe cheap sheets this weekend.
2. water pressure.
-Actually, good, American showers in general.  It's like a comedy every morning as I try to avoid getting scalded, then frozen...wash the suds out of my hair (it takes literally five whole minutes, no joke)...and get clean.  The water is more a trickle than a spray...sadness.  lol, I miss my big shower and the consistent water temperature.
3. 50-minute classes.
-Today I had two three-hour classes back-to-back.  Ew.  Granted, they meet once a week, but still...the marathon is so unpleasant.
4. texting.
-We have phones without the full keyboard, and I didn't realize how accustomed I'd become to typing all my texts like that until we had to start using t9 again...oh brutal adjustment!
5. my mom and dad.
-Don't know what the deal is today...I'm just super tired and I want my mom and dad.  I really hope they get over here to visit, it sounds like everybody else's parents are and I don't think I can go 4 months without seeing them... :/
6. the convenience of the dining hall.
-Today, a group of us walked a half hour from class (which ended at 5) to Sainsbury's, the grocery store, then another half hour back to the flats.  Then we had to wait like another hour while we got everything ready and cooked.  I was SO. FAMISHED.  After all the walking we've been doing, I'm always starving at mealtime and it always takes forever.  As much as we complain about it, SDH was sooooo convenient.
7. normal peanut butter.
-the peanut butter here is reallyreallyREALLY salty.  It's gross.
8. quiet.
-Our flats front right on a very busy street, and it is no joke 24/7 traffic noise.  I'm sure I'll get used to it but right now it's very grating.
9. "The Bachelor."
-don't you dare judge.
10. downtime.
-It's constantly go-go-go here, which on the one hand I really like because we can do and see so much and there just simply IS so much to see...but I am legitimately on the move from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed.  I'd love a night to just sit down with a good book and relax...hmm.

Lol, sorry to be a downer-whiner, but I've been ruminating on this stuff for the past couple days on the endless walks back and forth between K-M and the London Centre...and to be honest, the only reason I made a "ten things i miss" list is because the "things i love" list would be too long for a blog post.  :)

Tonight, we're going to sit down and hammer out our international travel plans!  The pow-wow is happening soon and my ideas are:
-Paris!!!! (duh.)
-Southern France (Nice, Marseille)
-Northern France (the Loire castle region)
-Spain (Barcelona, Seville)
-Edinborough, Scotland
-Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice)
-Austria (to see Philip M. Black, another duh.)
-Prague (because every single European I've talked to has said "Visit Prague" first of anything...)
-Germany (Munich? I really don't know.  Germany's lower on my list because I'd rather go to Austria.)

That's all I'm thinking for international right now.  I think I want to spend spring break somewhere unique, but I also think I want to spend a lot of time in France, Spain and Italy, which is tough because a spring break would be the perfect time to go more in-depth on those countries.  And that's not even counting the weekend trips I want to do around the UK...I really want to go to Jane Austen's house, the Lake District, and maybe a weekend somewhere in Ireland.  And of course, Scotland is technically a bus trip away only.  Gah! So many decisions!