Some little things I miss...
I miss super fuzzy Bloo...but even more than that, I miss snuggling with my pup. Back home, our lazy boy probably spent 80% of his time on the couch in one of our laps, or spread out in our bed. (He might even have thought that it was HIS bed and he let us sleep in it with him on occasion.)
But since we've been here, he prefers to lay on the cool tile floors... Also, the furniture here doesn't belong to us, so we trained him (really, really quickly because he's a genius) to stay off of it. So, if I want puppy love, I gotta go down to his level. Which I do, of course, because he is my most favorite creature in the whole world. Duh.
As I mentioned in my last post, I miss having any control whatsoever over my hair. I've always had naturally curly hair but I've been straightening it for over a decade. To let it stay curly requires a bunch of hair products to keep the frizz at bay, and even then I never knew what in the hell it was gonna do during the day... It was always just easier and less work to flat iron...and I'm a laaaaazzzy girl. But here, flat ironing is totally pointless because I just sweat my face off the entire time and my hair ends up wet and frizzy before I'm even finished. And all the products in the world can't combat tropical rain and one million percent humidity. So, I've resorted to locking my hair down in tight braids or slicked back buns or whatever else that will work as a straight jacket for this crazy ass tumbleweed sprouting from my noggin right now. (Update! Since starting this post I got a much-needed Brazilian Blowout as a birthday present from my sweet mother-in-law and now Ty is the only homeless-looking member of the family. Thanks again, Janis!!) I should have taken a before pic, but just imagine if a poodle and a lion had a baby and that baby moved to Mexico in August.
I also miss having the option of wearing makeup. Let me rephrase...makeup is super pointless here, because it'll just be streaking down my face in 15 minutes. In fact, if I try to put anything on my face (lotions, creams, serums, foundation, whatever) I have to run and sit in front of a fan until it dries because if I don't it'll just turn into a sweat mask... I've never been much of a girly girl, but it'd be nice to swipe on some eyeliner now and then when we're going out. Have you ever tried to draw on a wet balloon with a Sharpie? Well, I haven't either. But I imagine it's like trying to put on eyeliner in Mexico in August. Annoyingly, the Mexican women here always have flawless makeup and frizz-free hair and no signs of permanent sweat-staches like yours truly. Apparently I need lessons on how to lady like a Mexican.
On a related note... I miss not being covered in sweat. I should be kinda used to it because of my previous job as a personal trainer/bootcamp instructor...but having to constantly sop up my face/neck/chest when I'm doing something as little as eating dinner, is new and gross. I also miss Ty having dry skin...he's always sorta sticky/clammy/salty/greasy-looking now and freaks out if I come within a foot of him. And we're still stubbornly refusing to use the air conditioning in our house for some reason... As soon as it started hitting 80 degrees back home, we were firing up the A/C...but here where it's 90 degrees every day with 80% humidity (and according to my weather app, it "feels like 111 degrees")...we never turn it on. Go figure.
We also both miss not being eaten alive by mosquitoes on the daily. And not being covered in itchy bites and bloody scabs. The mosquitoes are terrible here during the summer because of the heavy rain, muddy puddles and general dampness. Sprays, lotions, repellents, candles, etc. have little affect and we both spend a good portion of the day swatting at our bare legs and scratching yesterday's bites. As I type this, I keep clawing at the welts on my shins and ankles. Is it winter yet?!
I miss sleeping through the night. Have I mentioned it's hot here?? Even with a ceiling fan above our bed and a floor fan pointed directly at us all night, it's tough to find 8 solid hours of sleep. Two nights ago was extra fun... We had our loudest, wildest thunderstorm yet and Ty ran outside (totally naked and barefoot! Haha!) to force our bedroom windows closed because our bed was getting rained on. Ahhh, tropical life.
I think Ty and I can both agree that we miss standard kitchen amenities you'd find back in the states... Dishwasher, ice-maker, garbage disposal, etc. Because of the harsh climate, mineral-rich water, winds and rain and heat and sun and humidity...appliances simply don't last as long here. And if you're near the beach, it's even worse... So, houses here are usually kept pretty basic. A garbage disposal isn't seen as a luxury or upgrade....it's just another thing that will need fixing and/or replacing in a year or two.
I really miss reuben sandwiches and eggs benedict. My two most-ordered restaurant dishes. Sigh. Not surprisingly, Ty has been happily dousing absolutely everything in hot sauce and topping all our meals with avocado...no matter what it is, it gets avocado.
I miss having everything available at my fingertips. The selection in stores is just not what it is back home. I'm used to like an entire aisle of spray paint at Home Depot, having Amazon deliver me silly "necessities" at a push of a button, and knowing where to find anything and everything. Here...everything is kinda spread out and you gotta like know who to ask or research something to find what you need or go to lots of little separate stores. Or.... You just ship stuff to your aunt who is coming to visit in a few months. (Thanks, Pam!)
I miss having clean feet! Considering the beach is a stone's throw away and our house is on a dirt road and we wear nothing but flip flops...our feet are usually pretty dirty by the end of the day. And Poncho, Baku's resident beach-loving pup, tracks in a hefty amount of sand every day after frolicking in the waves...so, no matter how hard we try to avoid it, we basically walk on sandy floors and sleep in sandy sheets every night.
I miss having a bath tub. Not that a hot bath sounds good in this heat...but I'm just super lazy and sometimes I wanna have the option of laying down after a long day of yard work.
I think the hardest thing for me so far is feeling so out of my element... I miss feeling like a competent adult. I've always considered myself extremely independent... I bought my first car with cash from waiting tables at 16, I left home immediately after graduating high school at 17 and worked 3 part-time jobs to support myself, I was a homeowner by 21, I was managing several men more than twice my age by 25 even though I didn't have a college education, I quit my corporate job at 27 and went to school and graduated at the top of my class, and I became a very successful personal trainer and bootcamp instructor running classes of 30 people like a BOSS! But since arriving here... I feel like I've reverted back to being a socially awkward, inept teenager. Moving to a new town is hard enough to acclimate to... But a new country, new language, new cultural, new traffic laws, whole new world...it's been a lot for me to adjust to. I feel pretty dysfunctional and small and incapable most of the time now. When you can't communicate with people you see everyday, it can be pretty disheartening. Oops. Enough talking about feelings...insert witty, sarcastic joke here.
With the buzz around football season starting soon (already?!?!) I've been feeling nostalgic for frosty Sundays on the couch in my Seahawks hoodie watching the games while chili is simmering on the stove and Ty is chopping wood in the garage. Siggggghhh. I also miss this vision of Sunday napping PERFECTION....
I think I'm going to also really miss American holidays as I know them. We're throwing an early Thanksgiving dinner for some family that's visiting in mid November and it'll be interesting trying to find alla the traditional ingredients to go along with it... I'm also curious to see what people use as Christmas trees around here and what it'll be like to celebrate this year's holidays in shorts rather than coats.
I guess that's enough blah blah for one post... Sorry this week's rendition of nonsense was super long and less than entertaining. Love you all!
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