25 Things I Love About Each of My Two Homes

Our front porch in the states

Hiking in California foothills

Women’s adventure group, Pinnacles National Park

Kids at Sword Lake

Beach trip with my niece

Taylor’s Best Friend from the states

Think about the area where you live. Think of the BEST thing about it, and also other things you love about it, too. I bet you’re smiling right now.

Now, think about something you wish were different, something you DONT LIKE at all. I’ll bet that smile turned upside down.

I believe that no matter where we live there will be both – things we love, and things we dislike. We are to make the best of it and always seek God’s will in the details.

My thoughts are in between two continents right now since we are just a month away from a 34 day visit back to the states after having lived in Thailand for the last 11 months.

It has me thinking about things from home in America that I love, things I have missed while living abroad. And it also has me thinking about things I’ll miss from here in Thailand while our family spends time in the U.S. So many blessings in my life to be grateful for, no matter on which side of the planet I’m residing!

Taylor and Nana with Roxy

Things I have really missed from our life in the States:

• people – family and friends (can’t wait to see you!!)
• our dog (can’t wait to see her!!)
• authentic Mexican food
• In N Out burger
• Winter
• affordable grocery shopping
• dry climate (non-frizzy hair)
• green – I didn’t realize how much I appreciated our established neighborhood’s yards and nearby park; also humming birds were everywhere there
• central air conditioning
• quick and easy access to mountain adventures
• smoothies that do not have tons of sweetener added
• Modesto’s farmer’s market

Kim and I hiking Cleo’s Bath

Julie and I, hiking in Tahoe

• being able to go out in the sun (it is too hot here, the sun is too close and burns you FAST!)
• Hot water for the sink and clothes washer – boiling it for dishes makes me feel like Laura Ingalls
• our pillow-top mattress and awesome pillows
• our home church, Modesto Covenant
• wearing jeans – it’s just too hot here, and not allowed to wear them to work either
• Trader Joe’s, Costco, Hobby Lobby, maybe Target
• the Sierra Nevadas and the Pacific Ocean
• the teacher store in McHenry Village
• REI
• clean air
• Clorox cleaning wipes, Costco size
• Driving on the right side of the road
• monthly outdoor adventures with my women’s group I started a few years ago

Bon Chon

King’s Park

Things I’ll miss from our life in Thailand while we are back in the States this summer:

• people – this community here (both expat and Thai) is amazing
• eating out cheaply
• using a scooter to get around
• humidity (healthy skin)
• cheap fuel for the car
• road funnies – always some truck piled high with goods, often with a person on top to hold it!
• cheap smoothies (however, I will not miss the loads of sugar that is always added to them here!)
• fresh, tropical cut-up fruit available on every corner (specifically I will miss dragon fruit, jack fruit, pears, pineapples, and coconuts)
• whole, fresh coconuts available everywhere, cut open for you with a straw inserted – natural electrolytes!
• sticky rice
• Hang drying the laundry (we’ll be road-tripping across the U.S., so probably have to use a dryer to do loads of laundry in a reasonable amount of time at a laundromat)
• Our churches, Life Church Asia and  Bangna Christian Fellowship

Elephant trekking on Ko Chang

Sky Train (BTS)

• outdoor markets, selling pretty much ANYTHING you can imagine
• our go-to local coffee places
• Bon Chon, A Ramen, Beirut, Black Canyon, & other yummy restaurants
• Tuesday night Yoga
• riding my bike
• rainy season’s return – but it will continue for a few more months once we’re back. Absolutely LOVE the thunder and lighting we get to see and hear in this tropical locale!
• our kind building guards – like many Thais, these guys work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week
• gecko and monitor lizard sightings
• having groceries or dinner delivered right to the door
• modest dress – (I haven’t had to look at cleavage, butt-cracks, undergarments, etc. on a daily basis like we have to in California)
• Thai patriotism – every day they stop what they’re doing and stand respectfully for a minute when the national anthem comes on tv or radio at 8:00 am and 6:00 pm.
• the saltwater pool at my school
• the calmer pace of life that is common here (especially outside of Bangkok)

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of things that bother me about both my California home and my Thailand home, but that’s a whole other post for a different time!