I'm 95% sure that I think in bullet points.

Things I miss about America:
- family and friends... duh.
- my bed
- REAL Mexican food
- ketchup
- ranch dressing
- the dollar
- seat protectors in public bathrooms
- 8.5 x 11 printer paper
- drinking fountains
- driving
- hockey
- my pets
- American units of measurement
- iced tea
- Hershey's chocolate that tastes like it's supposed to
- Pandora
- Hulu
- Kix
- familiarity
- being involved in theatre
- Disney movies
- Costco
- Target
- the California atmosphere
- drivers on the right side of the road
- the overarching lack of pretension
- having a cell phone that wasn't originally manufactured in 2003
- Goldfish crackers
- Top Ramen
- artificially orange mac n' cheese, straight from the box
- In N Out
- Pacific Standard Time
- understanding cultural references
- American slang/vocabulary
- flip flop weather


Things I'm going to miss about Oxford:
EVERYTHING.


But more specifically...
- my cell group
- St. Aldate's church
- British accents
- the Oxford fashion
- walking
- 222 and 224 Abingdon
- the Bodleian
- the covered market
- knowing that there's always somewhere new to explore within walking distance
- being intellectually challenged
- reading voraciously
- having time
- not operating at a break neck pace
- going to pubs
- G&Ds ice cream
- tripping on the cobble stone paths everyday
- multitudes of cafes, all with excellent tea and coffee
- Tesco
- the overwhelming amount of history and antiquity
- the architecture
- my skylight
- having silent, gesticulative conversations across kitchens with whoever is in 224
- the evil swans and geese
- Big Issues
- the fact that London is only a £1 bus ride away
- Bangers and Mash
- Digestives
- £2 meal deals
- ridiculous house parties well into the wee hours, regardless of the day of the week
- copious alone time
- being constantly pushed outside of my comfort zone
- how much more soft spoken the general populace is
- meeting new people
- Olive's sandwiches
- the constant flow of events/speakers/lectures/plays/concerts/etc.
- the culture of conversation
- condoned/encouraged jaywalking
- the ease and opportunity of travel


That's all I've got for now. I know there's more belonging in each category, as well as sizable lists of things I don't/won't miss about each place. But there it is. I think it's funny that a large portion of the things I miss from America are food items. I shall feast upon my return.


Grace and peace.

One month.

That's how long I have until I fly back to the States. This fact has been sinking in, and I've frantically begun to wring every droplet out of Oxford that I can muscle. I'm taking the extra time to explore a nook of the city centre that I had neglected thus far, I'll take my camera out and snap a few discreet shots of the sights that I pass everyday. But I still have time for that. Oxford is not going anywhere in the next four weeks. The buildings will be just as majestic, the cobble stone paths just as precarious, the city centre just as bustling. The faces with which I have grown familiar are disappearing, though. I will continue to briskly walk my familiar routes, but no longer with the chance of crossing paths with a friendly face, from which would issue an American or British accent. Both are leaving. The Hilary term ends this week and the Oxford student population is dispersing, natives to their homes and visitors to their travels. With the end of the week comes the onslaught of goodbyes, perhaps forever. Hence my desperation. Oxford, albeit brimming with historical value, quaint antiquity, and unique beauty, is only a city, and a city is only as precious as its inhabitants. And the inhabitants that I hold dear are moving on. They were never meant to become permanent fixtures, but I can't help but desperately wish that my snapshots could hold more than just an image of them. So yes, I still have a month left. At the end of this week I will be leaving Oxford to travel, and I'll return to Oxford when those travels are finished. But I know that much of the hold that this place has on me will dissipate in my time away. So I'm grasping and scraping and treasuring and pondering.