· Qdoba/Chipotle. Hi my name’s Amanda Kemezys and I’m addicted to Qdoba/Chipotle. There, I said it. I absolutely love both of these places and ate at one of them at least once if not twice (if not thrice…yeah I said thrice) a week before I left home. Of course I made friends with the workers at the ones by SLU and by my house and when I went there for my “last meal” the day before I left the states, my buddies even gave me my meal free since I told them my sitch and had been such a loyal customer. :) So yeah, I hope that paints a picture of my love/obsession/addiction. And seeing that there is no real equivalent to this here (or any Mexican food for that matter), I have been craving this since the day I left! But no worries, my loving family is obligingly helping me out and having my standard Burrito Bowl order waiting for me at home tomorrow night when I get in. So. Freaking. Excited!
· Clothes Dryer. After devouring my Burrito Bowl the next thing I plan to do is to wash every single item of clothing I brought home and then….wait for it….put it in the DRYER!!! I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it on here or not, but Lithuanians, and I believe Europeans in general, are not big fans of clothes dryers so I literally have not been able to dry my clothes in months. I’ve gotten used to the drying rack process and I love “going green” but oh my gosh it will be so nice to have clothes, especially socks, that are fluffy and not crusty.
· Shower. Ok that sounds bad…I have in fact been showering here. Lol. BUT these showers consist of either a) showering at the gym where our “showers” in the locker room are two shower heads in a little area that would be considered small for a walk-in closet. It obviously gets the job done, but with 11 girls all vying for shower time, you usually gotta go as quick as possible. Showering option b) here is my shower at home which has no shower curtain. Apparently this is not a big deal here but it is a lot harder than you would think to enjoy taking a long, hot shower while having to worry about splashing water everywhere around your bathroom. So, needless to say I am PUMPED to get home and take a 20 minute shower where I don’t have to worry about creating a big puddle!
· Back Crack. Although my mom cringes at it, I love a good back crack- most notably by Mal, Kate or Linz. I don’t know what it is, but these girls are like my own personal chiropractors and I can’t wait to get home and get “re-adjusted”!
· Subway. Although Courtnay and I have found an awesome sandwich place here that we frequent at least once a week (and yes we’ve made friends with the workers there too), nothing compares to the awesomeness that is Subway. Give me either a BLT (no mayo obvi) or grilled chicken, lettuce and tomato sandwich on honey oat bread and call it a day! You can never go wrong with Subway and it is another food high on my priority list.
· Bread. Similar to the excitement that will come from Subway’s honey oat bread, is just any bread in general. The majority of the bread I’ve had here is always pretty hard or dry so I look forward to normal, warm and soft bread back home. Anyone looking for a last minute Christmas idea for me could get me 5 loaves of bread from Tony’s in Mascoutah and I would be ecstatic! Haha.
· Napkins. Some of you know my strange napkin fetish. I don’t know why, but whenever I’m eating anything, I like to have a good napkin on hand and I gotta say, the Lithuanian equivalent of a “napkin” is little more than a rough piece of paper. I know, a weird request, but just one of those things…
· Fountain soda/free refills/Ice in your drink in general. If you know my fam, you know that we are all pretty serious beverage consumers. No matter what it is- water, soda, tea, adult beverages too- we are all about the drinks. Anytime there’s a long car ride or even if we’ve been out and about all day, we’ll stop somewhere to get a refreshing drink and we are always heavy on the refills when eating out. Here- if you ask for a Coke you get just that- A Coke. Brought to you in a glass bottle with a cup. The bottle’s been in the fridge so it’s semi cold, but there is never any ice to be found. Even places like the movies or McDonald’s that actually have fountain soda sometimes don’t use ice or if they do it’s like legit 2 cubes. There are no free refills to be heard of and pet peeve #1 about beverages here is that water is NOT free! Again, I know it’s something small and I’m sorry for the rant, but holy cow, someone take me to 7-11 when I’m home so I can get a Big Gulp!! :)
· Body Pillow. I am a hugeee body pillow user and have always had one since I can remember. I love snuggling up with it when I sleep and am real excited to get home to mine!
· Target/Walmart. Yes, there are stores similar to them here too, but just the familiarity of those 2 stores is what I miss. There’s just something about Target’s $1 section, 5 for $20 undies and $5 movies that says “home” to me I guess. Lol.
· Texting. I do have a European phone here that I use with my team and I also have 50 international texts a month on my American phone that are used sparingly usually just to communicate with my Mom while travelling without internet (or to notify people immediately after our big Euroleague wins! :) ), but I miss just texting in general. Once my Dad finally realized how vital this mode of communication is for me and got me unlimited texting, I definitely use it to the max! I’m not as bad as some people of my generation and I don’t stay on my phone at all times, but I love and miss the convenience of just being able to text randomly with people when I see something that reminds me of them or that I think they will enjoy. Again, I know it’s weird, but just another comfort of home. So if you’re in my phone book, probably expect a text during the 2 weeks I’m home. :)
· Pizza. Pizza is actually one of the things here that is pretty normal and the I enjoy often, but alllll pizza here is thin crust and since the “pepperoni” is like some other kind of weird sausage, I’m getting a little tired of thin crust cheese pizza. I’m dying for a pepperoni and mushroom pizza that is either a) not thin crust or b) from one of my fave pizza places- Imo’s or Dewey’s.
Well, I could keep going on with random things, but this at least gives you an idea of some of the crazy things I’ve missed while being away. I can’t wait to indulge in all of them, but of course I mostly can’t wait to see all my family and friends!! I really can’t imagine the emotions that are going to go through me when I finally land in St. Louis and am walking to the gate. When times were tough here in the beginning and I really missed home, I literally used to picture what the scene at the airport would be like the day I got back and that helped me get through things. I joke with my sister about having a big banner waiting there for me and I’m probably playing things up too much, imagining that it’s gonna be really dramatic like the last scenes in Love Actually, but regardless I cannot wait for the moment to run into my parents' arms and hug them. I forgot to add this to the list, but in reality, THAT would be my #1 thing I miss most- hugs from my parents. Both of my parents have those types of hugs where you never want to let go because while you're hugging it seems like all is right in the world. Anyone who has ever played on a team with me has usually gotten a warm Jean hug or a big Ray squeeze after a game and you know how special they are. So THAT is what I am now counting down the hours to. WATCH OUT AMERICA, HERE I COMEEEE!!!! :)
*Also- thinking that this may be my last blog entry til I get back to Lithuania (on January 3rd), Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you all have a great holiday and enjoy spending it with family, counting your blessings like I will be! God has truly blessed me so much! :)
I'm so excited!!
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