1. The view from our house.
We have an empty lot across the street from us and it has provided many hours of wildlife watching from our lounge and dinning room.
2. The wildlife.
Among my favourites are the Cardinals and Bluebirds but without a doubt the squirrels and
chipmunks weigh in at number 1, having provided so many hours of entertainment and
photography. Now before you think I'm off my rocker here, let me just say that in New Zealand the
only woodland friend you will find in your backyard is the occasional hedgehog. That's it. So when
I came to America and woke up to find little critters all over the place, I was, and still am, totally
taken by them.
3. Our friends and family.
Enough said. You guys will all be missed & I'm so grateful that I got to meet and spend time
with so many of you, and to see so many different places in the U.S. You now have a place to stay in
Zurich, take us up on it!
4. My kitchen.
Yes, I call it "my" kitchen. Many hours have been spent in it and I know I will be lucky to have one
half its size soon.
5. The weather.
I think Georgia will forever be a great place in my mind, simply because of the weather. I've never
lived anywhere with such beautiful and short winters. I am sure number 5 on my list will be missed
even more once we touch down in Zurich and find that Winter is not over by February!
Now for the things I will not miss. Again, in no particular order.
1. The water.
Ok, so maybe this is top of my list. So it's free at restaurants & is always topped up without you
having to ask, but frankly, it should be free. It's disgusting. I will happily pay the 5francs it costs in
restaurants in Switzerland if it is good clean water that has no smell or taste. Honestly, I will be
happy to pay!
2. Our landlords.
Anyone who's had more than 5 minutes of my time will have surely heard about our swimming pool
in the basement, if not, I'll save you a rant and simply say that I will not cry at not having to deal
with incompetent landlords (oh, fingers crossed we don't get a Swiss version).
3. Eating out.
Eating out in the States is not something we made a habit of, simply because the quality of the
food, the portion sizes and tipping, often make it not worth the belly ache (literally) and the money. I
know eating out will be expensive in Switzerland but I at least hope that these 3 things will not be an
issue.
4. Accessibility to shops.
I will not miss having to jump in the car every time I want to go more than a 1 mile radius of our
house. We loved having all sorts of shops at our finger tips when we lived in Japan, and are eager to
get back to that accessibility.
5. USCIS
For those of you who don't know what this joyful government department is, it is the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services. A place I know better than I would like. Of course my
journey with USCIS is far from over, but I will at least be taking a good year off from having to
deal with them (touching wood as I write).
So, there it is, my list of things that will and won't be missed. Do you have any stories of things you missed or didn't miss when you moved to a new country?
(P.S. I wanted to post some of my squirrel photos but due to technical difficulties I cannot. So instead, here are a few shots from some countries we have visited.)
Kyoto, Japan
Milford Sound, New Zealand
Kruger National Park, South Africa
Borobudur, Java, Indonesia
