Bonus blog...things I miss from home....

Time is running short here in Moscow and I'll be back in Michigan in less than a week...So, much had been packed into the last three weeks that it feel like it's been ages since we arrived.  However, now that the end seems to be approaching like the metro train coming out of a tunnel, there are definitely several things that I am looking forward to when I get back.  Here are some of the tops winners right now...

1. Water...like at a restaurant, when you sit down and they bring everyone a glass of water...FOR FREE!  Here, you pay for water just like coffee, pop (or soda), beer, wine, or vodka.  And the water (which is just bottled water) is often just or more expensive what some of the other drinks.
2. Refills...as in Free refills of pop or the aforementioned glass of water... This has had a seriously negative impact on my drinking habits when I dine out.
3. Meijer...That's right, I miss the "thrifty acres" superstore chain.  It's nice to be able to go to a store and find what you want.  Admittedly, the idea of one-stop-shopping is a very America thing but you might not realize how much you do it until you are forced to go on a scavenger hunt in a foreign country for something like athletic or medical tape. (Note this goes for just about any chain store like Walmart, Traget, Kmart...wherever you shop most)
4. My truck...she's at the garage getting some much needed brake and alignment work done so she should be in pretty good shape when I get back.  I'm looking forward to just being able to hop in my car and go for drive.  However, if I were ever to move to Moscow, I probably wouldn't bother with a vehicle, the streets are filled with crazy drivers here.  I think I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago but it's worth mentioning again...the only traffic/drivers that I've ever seen that are worse than they are here in Moscow, was in Port Au Prince, Haiti.  And I stand by that statement.
5. A McDonald's double cheeseburger...or more accurately, a McDouble (same thing as a double cheeseburger but with one less piece of cheese).  I love McDonald's and I love the $1 McDouble.  Now, they do have Mickey D's here but its way more expensive.  I've been there a couple times to try a few things there that we don't have in the States but I don't go to that many American Fast food places here because they can be almost double what it costs back home...Street vendors, not that's a different story...
6. Ice...(insert Vanilla Ice's famous tune here)  It is a very rare occasion when you can manage to get a Coke (or whatever you favorite pop is) with some ice in it.  When you do manage to get your drink with ice in it, it's just about the right amount...just enough to keep your drink cold.  That's one thing restaurants often over do in America where it's more likely that you get a little bit of soda to go with your ice...I don't like that, but some ice is nice...
7. Golf...for those that really know me, I bet you are wondering why it took me this long to mention this... Well, truth be told, I do love playing but growing up in Michigan, you learn to cope with the lack of golf through the winter months so that's kind of how I'm treating it here.  However, I get back early afternoon next Thursday and I just might manage to head out to the links if I'm not totally exhausted, it might be nice to get an easy nine holes of Twilight golf in at Ella Sharp Park...
8. Normal daylight times...the four-five extra hours of daylight really mess with your head.  Even after being here for almost a month, it's still weird that it's as light as it is as long as it is.  It just seems a unnatural that you can walk outside and see just fine at 11:30 at night, and it's just plain wrong when you can do the same thing a 4 am! I've woken up at 5am before and frantically had to check my clock to make sure I hadn't overslept because it's so light outside.
9. My cell phone...I brought it with me to use as a time piece but that's not working over here because my phone only works with American bandwidths...I'm sure I'm going to have a ton of messages when I get back...
10. English...It will be nice to go into a store, ask for something, and get it just by talking...  Next time I come to Russia I am making sure I speak the language better because this whole pointing and nodding thing is getting really old really fast.  A better English/Russia book would be helpful as well.