#rye 2018-2019

[lauryntolyon]

Things I Miss From The U.S. (accidentally all food)

When I first left I had only a small idea of what I would and wouldn’t be able to get once I got to France. Now after being here for almost 3 months there are somethings I’m really starting to miss. 

Hot Cheetos- there are no Cheetos here and it’s really sad. There are no spicy snacks! I have tried many different things that are supposed to be spicy and it’s all a lie.  

Salty Snacks- French people already don’t really snack but if they do it’s always sweets. I just really want some Gold Fish or some Cheezits or really just any other crunchy salty American snack food. 

Unsweetened Iced-tea- I drink a lot of tea and a large portion of that is unsweetened iced-tea. This just doesn’t exist here. I have looked all over the place and can not find anything that doesn’t have sugar in it. I went from drinking a large 99¢ unsweetened iced-tea from Dunkin Donuts  almost everyday to not drinking any iced-tea for almost 3 months. Oh what I would give for a giant iced-tea right now. 

ICE- there is no ice in anything and it makes me very sad. I love ice so so much. The other thing that makes me mad about this is that if you go to a place like McDonald’s they don’t put any ice in it but still leave the gap at the top you would usually fill with ice. If you AREN’T GOING TO GIVE ME ICE I WANT IT AT LEAST FILLED TO THE TOP!    

Packaged Ramen Noodles- This one is a little silly but still I really miss ramen. This isn’t something that completely doesn’t exist here it’s just not very common and not very good. I eat a surprising amount of ramen for breakfast in the states and right now I really miss that. 

Popcorn/Microwave- I miss popcorn. Microwave popcorn can be bought at most stores but there’s one problem. My host family doesn’t have a microwave. I wouldn’t say a microwave is something that I absolutely need in my life (especially since no one eats leftovers here) but it’s nice to have to be able to quickly reheat something. Another thing about popcorn. I don’t know if all movie theaters here are like this or if it is just the one I went to but they don’t sell salty popcorn. REALLY FRANCE DOES EVERYTHING NEED TO BE SWEET! I am someone who doesn’t like sweet popcorn I think it is an abomination in the world of popcorn. It completely ruined my evening when I went to the movies looking forward to some nice SALTY POPCORN AND THIS IS WHAT I GET!

 Local Restaurants- I’m really starting to miss the food from the restaurants in my home town. My host family almost never goes out to eat and so I haven’t really been able to find any restaurants here that I really like where as in the states I’ve had almost 10 years to be able to find places that I love eating at. I really want barbecue from Black Dog, sizzling rice soup and spicy tofu from Peking Garden, Udon from Sushi Kame, Sushi from Oishi, and Butter chicken from that one Indian restaurant that no one in my family knows how to say the name of. These are one of the hardest to miss since there is no way for me to be able to eat them until I return to the U.S. at the end of my exchange. 

Those are all the things that I miss that I could think of at the moment but I know there are more. I realized after I wrote them that they are all food so I guess we know where my true priorities lie.

[lauryntolyon]

More Things I Miss From The U.S. (not all food this time)

The Office/TV in general- French Netflix doesn’t have The Office or Parks and Rec. and it makes me very sad. I watch these shows all the time in the states and they never cease to put me in a better mood, so not being able to watch them since exchange can be such a hard and emotional event. In the States I was used to sitting down every night and watching a bit of TV with my mom and I figured that this would be something that would translate over when I was in France just with French shows and maybe a bit of variation on the time or person. However my host family doesn’t have cable. My host family only has Netflix and its not something they use on a daily or sometimes even weekly basis. I miss having that time at the end of the night where I can just sit down with my family and laugh at one of the many shows we watch together. 

My comfy spot on the couch- I have a particular spot on the couch at my home and it’s the most perfectly comfortable spot in the whole world. It has an arm rest and a nice cozy back so I can nuzzle myself into it for hours (and get yelled at for slowly pushing the sheet to protect it from dog hair into the couch). The couch my host family has doesn’t have a back and so unless you pad yourself with a lot of pillows it isn’t super comfortable to sit on for very long. 

Arguing with people- I get into useless debates with my family all the time and this usually entails us yelling at each other about how each other’s opinions are completely and utterly wrong.  When you can’t completely understand a language it’s hard to get into a good debate with someone. It’s also hard since I’m not comfortable enough with anyone here to start yelling at them about their opinions on things. 

American accents- everyone here seems to either have a french accent (as one would expect in France) or a British one. It is very rare for me to find another American here unless I go to the very touristy places. British accents used to be my favorite but after 3 months I really miss the sound of another American. 

Fried rice for breakfast- Ar home whenever we have leftover rice from dinner or another meal my mother will take it and turn it into fried rice filled with peas, ginger, and garlic. If I’m lucky and there is enough time there is also a perfectly fried egg on top. I miss this so much. This is something that I had no idea I would miss as much as I do. 

Really anything for breakfast that isn't sweet bread- I’m just really tired of morning stomach aches. P.S. My host mom was nice enough to ask me recently what I like to eat for breakfast back at home after my host dad mentioned to her that I had been eating guacamole for breakfast (something he though was a bit weird). So for the past few weeks I’ve had smoked salmon and salami to eat with my bread.  

American pizza- I have eaten a surprising amount of pizza while in France since both my host parents work and there is a pizza shop just down from my house. The thing about American pizza that I miss the most is the ability to choose exactly what you want on your pizza. In France you have to pick from a list of preset pizzas. Almost all of these pizzas have some form of meat on them that shouldn’t touch my pizza with a 50 foot pole. ( I also just really want Monical’s pizza)

So here’s another list of things that I miss. I’ve been working on a post about Thanksgiving for a few weeks now but Tumblr keeps deleting my progress so it’s been a bit discouraging. There’s nothing worse than spending an hour writing only to have it all deleted in 5 sec. So I’ll get that done at some point. 

[lauryntolyon]

Saying Goodbye to One Home and Hello to Another

On August 27th, 2018 at 3:50pm I will be on a plane heading thousands of miles away from my home and the people I have spent the past 16 years of my life with. Everyone keeps asking me the same two questions: How do you feel? and , Are you ready? These have become the two hardest questions for me to answer. How do I feel? The only way I have been able to describe how I feel these last few days is (and pardon my french) “Oh Shit”. Now when you first read that you might assume that “oh shit” is a negative feeling for me. Something that is filled with massive amounts of anxiety and worry, and believe me it is, but that's not the end of what “oh shit” feels like. “Oh shit” is so much more than just anxiety, it’s also so many happy things as well. It’s utter excitement that the thing I have worked so hard for is finally happening and that all that paperwork and stress wasn’t for nothing. “Oh shit” is the happiness and sadness, excitement and anxiety all wrapped up into one.  It’s being sad that a part of me that is sitting here on my living room typing this is going to die in France. It is me morning that loss, but it is also me celebrating the new part of me that will be born in that country that will fill that space. The only way I can imagine that this exchange could be truly terrible is if I come back to Illinois the same girl that left. So that thought keeps “oh shit” in balance. Now for the second question, the one that is so many times more impossible than the first. Am I ready? How could someone ever be ready for something like this? No, I am not ready. I think my suitcases are too big. I think that I have packed too many clothes, but what if I pee myself everyday for three months straight and run out of underwear? I’m the kind of person who has irrational thoughts like this all the time. If I only did things that I was ready for I would never leave my house. I’m doing this because I am not ready. I am doing this because it scares me so much I want to read a book and never face reality again. But that’s not how the world works is it? I don’t think this experience would be worth it if I was ready. Someone who is ready doesn’t get to grow. Someone who it ready has already reached their highest point. There is nowhere to go but down from ready. There is nowhere to go but up from not ready. So yes I’m not ready, because all I have time to do is go up.