Despite the constant rain, all nighters doing work and 9am uni starts, being away from England for 4 months has made me appreciate the small things (and how much I actually love Nandos). So I have made a list of things that I basically can't wait to reunite with in 2 months!
1. Nandos
Judging by the intro to this you all knew this was going to be on here. Long seem the days where I'd be enjoying my weekly mango and lime chicken burger with cheese and pineapple and sweet mash on the side. On the plus side, thanks to my loyalty card I have a free quarter chicken waiting for me when I get back home! (For all of you non-british folk this is defiantly somewhere you need to look up and plan a trip to UK for!)
2. Asda
Yes, I know this is only a supermarket but it is also where me and my friends happen to spend most of our first two years of university at. Yes American super markets are probably twice as big but do you know how hard it is to find a can of tuna when there are like 40 varieties?! Asda is nice and simple, you either get Asda brand or John West if you haven't spent too much money on booze that week! I especially miss the relatively decent £1 pizzas, seems like I can't get anything decent here from Publix for less than $10
3. Comfort Foods
This is kind of a continuation from Asda, as I do miss snacking on their pork pies, cheese strings, winders and large range of (cadbury) chocolates. Not to mention their large range of pies and sausage rolls! (in moderation of course, i'm not sounding like the biggest health freak right now). Sunday roasts, shepherds pie, fish and chips by the beach, Pizza Express, Harvester's, the list goes on!
4. Nightlife
Americans know how to throw some good house parties, but the fact I'm still 20 means I can't really appreciate the nightlife over here to its fullest. I miss having a good 2 hours of pre drinks and being able to go out almost any night of the week and dancing like an idiot in the cheese room in Cameo (or Vinyl for all you freshers) and then finishing the night with a subway/take-away/4am call to Dominoes.
5. Topshop
Although the US has sooooo many shops that i've fallen in love with (PacSun, Bath&Body Works, VS/PINK) and I can probably buy 10 things in Forever 21 for the price of a dress in TopShop, I definitely miss this amongst River Island, New Look and Accessorize. But I am enjoying the fact that I can go back wearing clothes half my friends don't already own.
6. Uni
This is a bit of a strange one, by this I mean lectures being compulsory and only having to turn up to 10% of classes and still manage to pass the year. (if you're reading this mum i'm only writing this for entertainment purposes I swear). On the other hand our canteen always has some really good pasta!!
7. My double bed
I can't complain about my "college apartment" here in Orlando. It takes me two minutes to walk to class, I don't have to share a room with a roommate and we have our own pool to enjoy in between classes. However nothing beats being able to starfish on your bed or sleep in a diagonal position, not to mention how easy it is for friends to stay round spontaneously without having to find a blow up bed or sleep in an awkward top and tail position.
8. My Freedom
This makes me sound like I'm being held here against my will in the land of the free. America is HUGE, the only places I can get to when my car friends aren't available (or Ubering) is the supermarket or NYPD Pizza, and it's getting embarrassing that the people at Publix know me by first name and the waitress at NYPD knows my order. The transport system in Orlando isn't the best, so I miss just being able to leave my house and walk anywhere easily or having a bus stop at the foot of my doorstep.
9. Trains
By this I mean being able to jump on a train and be in a completely different city within half an hour (Southampton shopping is great ok and it has an iKea) and London in 2. There is so much I want to see in the US and it would probably take me a long time to see everywhere I want to see and be, whereas I think I've almost accomplished that in the UK!
10. MY FRIENDS!! (and family)
Considering I'm actually from Gibraltar which is where my family is I thought they couldn't really get mad at me for leaving them out on this one. My friends on the other hand would probably not read this unless they were mentioned in some way (which is why i left this for last mwaha). I miss having random movie nights in each others houses, going to quiz night every Tuesday and coming 3rd by default, spontaneous drunken nights at TOFS, going out to eat every other night even though we have no money, being a weirdo and it not being weird with them, nights dedicated to watching American Horror Story and Game of Thrones, playing lame pranks on my friends only I think are funny, and lastly travelling all around the UK to visit them all! (wow that was a very long sentence i'm sorry for my grammatical errors). I also get to meet my new nephew when I get back adding to the 100 things to look forward to!!
Life in Orlando has been so hectic that I haven't actually had time to miss home, but writing this list has definitely made me smile (cheesy I know) and I'm definitely looking forward to going home and seeing everyone, even though I will miss Florida and the people that have made my experience so far worth it!
twitter/insta : gianamariex
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