The Approaching Return: What We're Looking Forward To

I never actually thought I would write about what we miss from the United States because honestly, the list is not so long. In many aspects, life in Germany compares greatly to America. The German standard of living parallels the United States; you can find almost anything you need or want, plus more. However, since our return tickets are purchased for January 26, I started to think about what we are looking forward to most about returning to the U.S. Here's my short list:

Abby (on right) visiting us in July

1. Family & Friends. Obviously first on the list, our family and friends are dearly missed. Plans to fly to Denver where my twin sister lives are in the works, and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the gang at the airport when we arrive. However, we have been very fortunate to have family here in Germany that have opened their home to us, as well as good friends that already have plans to visit us in the States. Nevertheless, I'm greatly looking forward to spending quality time with our family, especially after missing every holiday gathering in the past year. (Side-note: We were very fortunate to spend a week with all close family and friends in June at our wedding in Florida and to have multiple visitors throughout the year!)

2. Food. What food do I miss? This is a common question that Derek and I have been asked, and my answer is simple: Mexican! We can make a hamburger if a craving exists (minus the American cheese) and we've been stocked on peanut butter since we moved over here. We can cook tacos or quesadillas with a little searching at the supermarket; I even know the exact location of black beans at our new grocery store. However, I miss spicy, white queso and a really good salsa. La Piedad in Indy will be our first stop; and yes, they do have Tex-Mex here, but nothing beats La Piedad! Besides spicy food at restaurants, Derek and I have found everything we need for home-cooked meals and our trips to the supermarket are always entertaining. 

The Guggenberger American specialty: 

Homemade, hand-stirred chocolate chip cookies!

3. Amenities. A dishwasher, microwave, garbage disposal, English TV and high-speed Internet will all be welcomed amenities in our next accommodation.  The lack of these features has nothing to do with living in Germany (besides the disposal), but just our current apartment in general; it is from the 1960's, literally. I even found WWII magazines under the bed. Derek and I have learned to live without these luxurious amenities since May, but still, it will be nice to open multiple pages on the browser and not wash every utensil by hand.

Our 1991 BMW

4. A Car. Yes, we have a manual car and I have yet to learn how to drive it nor have I really attempted to learn. Some things are better left alone, and so my driving will wait until I return to the States and drive my automatic, extremely large Ford Taurus. Even if the car was automatic, Derek would still have it during the day.

5. Community. Through our year long adventure abroad, I've gained a new appreciation for Indianapolis. I look forward to making the city our home by eventually finding a house, getting involved in volunteer activities as well as exploring the city's nooks and crannies that we always took for granted.


So, there's my list. I asked Derek to compile a list of what he is most looking forward to about the USA. Here's what he wrote:


1. Friends and Family. Naturally one of the biggest things that I miss are friends and family but we've been able to keep in good contact with just about everyone. We have also been very fortunate to have German relatives nearby where we have had a home away from home, along with meeting some great friends during our time here.

Nothing like a German mass of bier!

2. Drinking American craft beer. Germany is a great land for beer lovers and it, combined with our other European travels, has opened my eyes to how wonderful beer can be. The only negative aspect to German beer is how limited in variety it is, due to a history of strong government regulation of the beer industry. For nearly 500 years brewers in Germany were only allowed to make beer using barley, hops, and water (and yeast, except that at the time of the law it wasn't exactly clearly known what yeast did). This only recently changed, and so most of the German Pils and Weizen beers taste very similar. I’m excited to get back and start tasting some of the American beer concoctions.

3. Wearing an American flag t-shirt at the Indy 500. It would be tough to find one single event that sums up America so well. It’s an event where cars drive really fast 500 times around a circle, burning incredible (and other countries might say wasteful) amounts of gas and rubber to the cheers of people who have been drinking Bud and Miller Lite since 7:00 AM three days before, in the sweltering heat of an Indiana summer without sunscreen because we aren't afraid of getting a little burnt, wearing flags shaped as t-shirts, tank tops, bandannas  shorts, you name it (other countries may be shocked at this apparent “misuse” of the national flag, but us Americans know it just sign of our pride and true freedom),  and then after the nice holiday on Monday return to their jobs as doctors, engineers, pharmacists, teachers, manual laborers, skilled technicians, businessmen and women, all who were brought together and united for this one amazing event.

4. Price of well, just about everything. With gas being more than twice as expensive, a 19% sales tax on most goods, and the lack of availability of really cheap electronics and other simple goods it can be fairly expensive to live in Germany, at least on a temporary basis. Germany sells some very high quality goods that will last longer than most people will care to have them but has very few really cheap options except at times where there are sales at the discount stores. In America sometimes it just doesn't make sense to buy something really expensive simply because it is high quality and will last a long time.  If you’re a college student, someone living in a temporary location, or simply just don’t have a lot of money, with 75 bucks in your pocket you could walk into a Wal-Mart and come out with a toaster, microwave, coffee maker, and vacuum cleaner and still have money left over. All of these things might have been made in China and may not last more than a year, but for a lot of people that’s all they really need.

5. American Football, because soccer just doesn't cut it. Enough said.

The feeling goes both ways, and there are many, many things that we will miss about the lifestyle and culture here in Germany. Festivals, bakeries, markets, public transportation, connection to Europe, holiday mindset, our friends and many more things make up our list. Stay tuned for an in-depth post coming soon!