“You only get homesick right before you go home.”
The words of my Dutch friend Patty could not be truer as I’m about six weeks from my first trip back to the states. As soon as I booked my flight I immediately started thinking about being “home”.  Planning how I would see everyone, compiling lists of things to buy (try telling a petite Asian shop assistant that your cup size comes after the letter D in the alphabet), and other things I wanted to do (TARGET run). Being a Chicagoan, many of these things were food related, in fact, one of my proudest moments as a wife was when Craig said, “Put the chili dog place on your list”. Not even the Brit can resist the heart-attack-on-a-plate that is a Portillo’s chili dog and cheese fries.Â
Unfortunately, the more we talk about going back and all the good pizza we will eat, the more homesick I get. Luckily, I’ve found there are a couple of ways to combat those feelings or at least suppress them for another six weeks.
First, I turn to Facebook and Instagram. This can initially backfire and just compound the homesickness as several thoughts start to cross my mind.
I miss wearing jeans without sweating.
Red wine next to a roaring fire, I’ll double tap that.
Remember when you could buy a decent bottle of red wine for under $15?
Look at all the snow! So pretty!
Then I remember that it is actually April, and still snowing in Chicago. I forgot what month it was because it’s 88 and sunny here everyday. Gradually starting to feel better…progress.
Next, I take a trip to Orchard Road or Sentosa. Two places in Singapore that make me feel as if I’ve just touched down in the good old US of A. Orchard Road is like Michigan Ave.--if every other store on Michigan Ave. was Prada and everyone was required to drive around in Maseratis. I just have to imagine a few Green Peace hippies harassing me every few blocks and I could be back in Chicago. Oh and look, there’s Garrett’s Popcorn. (Really, there are several in Singapore.)
On to Sentosa, an island off the coast of Singapore that has been turned into a giant tourist attraction. This place is a bit like Disney Land for adults. Should we hit up the Wave Park, Universal Studios, the casino, or play beer pong on the beach?  Hmmm, why don’t we have lunch at Chili’s and contemplate our choices over a giant plate of queso dip. Americaaaaa!
Finally, time to head home and call it a day, but if I’m still yearning for something American I fire up the VPN and watch an episode of the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Until of course Hulu does this:Â
Damn you, Hulu! Â Guess I will need to wait another six weeks for some hashtags with Jimmy Fallon.