I just got back to America after spending five weeks in Europe. I hit five different countries but was primarily in Paris and Rome. I know this is a cliché (and I’m sorry), but it was a trip of a lifetime and I think that everyone should have the opportunity to do it if they can. But inevitably I missed home and the things that America provides.
1. Free refills
Europe doesn’t provide free refills. So on top of a coca-cola costing the equivalent of three American dollars, if you finish your 12 ounce coca-cola and want another, you have to pay another three bucks. So after three meals in Europe and getting three bills of spending like 10 bucks on pop, it’s definitely in the back of your head. Oh, and water costs money, too. So I just ended up drinking less liquids, which ended up dehydrating me in Paris at some point. So dear Europe, please embrace the glory that is free refills. I know you don’t make us tip on bills, but I’m willing to make that trade if you would like.
2. Air Conditioning... Europe is hot
Not sure why, but it is. The entire time I was there the temperature ranged from the low 80's and up, excluding one day in Paris when it poured and was around 70. But after a long day of sightseeing and walking 10 plus miles, you just want to go home and sit in air conditioning, but you can’t so you just stay hot and sweaty. That was a very tough transition.
3. Not having to use a drying rack
Europe doesn’t have dryers. Everyone just hangs their laundry on a rack and waits. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I’m a millennial who enjoys the instant satisfaction of being able to finish laundry in 2 hours instead of it being a whole day’s worth of waiting, but I definitely missed having a dryer. Another thing that I wasn’t expecting was that I needed to iron everything. I was even ironing t- shirts. Which sounds insane, but Europeans have some how gotten rid of wrinkles, even tiny ones, so you don’t want to be the one person on the street with a wrinkled shirt which screams “I’m an American, please come pickpocket me.” So I’m thankful to be back in the loving arms of my parents dryer, and its wrinkle shield.
4. Drivers that aren’t insane
Every time I got into a cab I felt like I was an extra in a Jason Bourne movie. It was terrifying. First off, there doesn’t seem to be speed limits. I never saw a sign with the speed limit and people just drove however fast they wanted to. Cab drivers just whipped around corners, got dangerously close to other cars, and then screamed at the people who they cut off. I will never take American drivers for granted again because my God I feared for my life more than once. Eventually I just put my head down and stared at my phone until I got to my destination.
5. Being able to keep up on the news
Paris and Rome are six hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, so when things happen in prime time, I was asleep. It was a weird challenge that I didn’t expect to have when I was in Europe. But at the same time, I was also way more caught up in world news than I usually am. I was glued to my TV during coverage of the Istanbul bombing, along with the terror attack in Bangladesh. While normally I would have been at work or in class, I was at home either getting back from dinner or getting ready to go to dinner.
All in all, it was a great trip, but America, you will always be my home.
