Thoughts on Leaving

A couple of lists for you.

Things that I'll miss when I leave

1. My friends.  Yes, I know this is pretty obvious.  I've made some really good friends here, probably the best friends that I've had since the friends that I made at MSU.  They will be extremely hard to leave, but I know they will be life-long friends and due to the advances in technology I'll be able to keep in touch with them even though I'll be over 6,000 miles away.
2. Redeemer Church of Dubai.  OK another obvious one.  I have learned so much about Jesus and being a Christ-follower through the gospel centered teaching at Redeemer.  They have truly become my family away from my family.
3. Camels.  I love seeing them in the back of a truck and wandering around the desert.  Beautiful animals that I'll only get to see in the zoo once I get back.
4. Shwarma and hommous.  Yummy!  I'll have to go to Dearborn and taste theirs to see if they compare to what I've gotten used to.
5. Traveling.  With the salary that I've been blessed to make and the location that I'm in it's been extremely easy to travel to different countries and experience different cultures.  I know this will probably stop when I get home, but hopefully I'll be able to fully explore the wonderful country that I live in and get to do a little international traveling (maybe one trip every other year?).
6. 3 weeks off for Christmas.  Yes, it's amazing that in a Muslim country I get more time off for Christmas than I would in the States.  Granted it's not billed as Christmas break, but it falls around that time and I really appreciate the extra week off; it allows for more traveling.
7. Roundabouts.  I know they were quite difficult to get used to, but they really do help keep traffic moving.
8. Diversity.  It's been so refreshing to be around so many different people and learn a bit about their cultures. 
9. Laundry.  I don't wash and iron my work clothes anymore.  It is quite cheap to have my clothes cleaned and ironed here so I don't have to waste my time doing that chore.
10. Not having to pay my bills every month.  It's quite a convenience to not have to pay a bill every month and not worry about the service being shut off.  I don't know if I'll be able to get back in the habit of monthly bills!

Things I'm looking forward to when I get home

1. Family.  Obvious.  I can't wait to see them more than just on holidays.  I am praying that I get a job in MI or a neighboring state so I can make it home more than just once a year.
2. A shower that doesn't leak.  Weird I know, but the way they are built here all the water runs out of the tub and onto the floor.  Bath mats get soaked so they are useless.  How nice it will be to not have to have a towel on the floor and then have to hang it up to dry after I get out of the shower.
3. A real vacuum.  I am so tired of dragging around the canister vac that doesn't really suck up anything, especially hair.  I can't wait for a nice upright one again.
4. Heat.  Yes, it does get cold here and my apartment isn't heated so it gets quite chilly at night and in the mornings.
5. Left turns.  As much as I have grown to like roundabouts sometimes they are annoying, especially when you have to go out of your way to get to the next roundabout just to make a u-turn so you can get to your final destination.  Waste of time.
6. Dryer.  I won't have to let my towels and sheets hang dry and become stiff and hard.  How nice to have soft towels that I can dry at home instead of taking to the laundry.
7. Pork.  Hotdogs.  Bacon.  Sausage.  Pork roast.  All the yummy deliciousness of pork.
8. Grocery shopping.  Yes, I go grocery shopping here but it is so hard to find the products that I'm used to and the ones that I need to make simple things like a Thanksgiving dinner with pumpkin pie!
9. Being understood.  Sometimes it gets so frustrating trying to express my ideas to people that don't speak English.
10. Holidays.  Halloween.  Thanksgiving.  Christmas.  I can't wait to see the decorations and listen to the Christmas music when I get to Germany and then back to the States next year. 
11. Teaching instead of managing behavior.  I feel like I spend more time managing behavior instead of teaching and it gets quite tiring.
12. Tigger and Chloe.  Having my cats around me again will be so nice.  I just hope Mom, Dad, and Amy can part with them!

There's probably more for both categories, but that's all I can think of right now.  73 degrees at 8pm.