Lists

Some things from Brazil that I will miss:
1. All the delicious tropical fruit I've been eating (My favorites- persimmons and passion fruit)
2. TIM! (our professor...he's awesome!)
3. Hiking through the jungle
4. Hanging out with my classmates here (they're great)
5. Having running buddies
6. The night clubs... and the chill bands who perform at them (From what I've seen, musicians in Brazil are much less arrogant and more down to earth than musicians in NY)
7. The opportunity to converse with other students at any time (I've participated in some pretty crucial discourse)
8. The free time... I've had plenty of opportunity to read
9. Watching the sunset over the reservoir; it's beautiful every night
10. Structure: get up at 9:00, activities all day, go to bed early (It makes me feel like a normal human being, rather than a crazed nocturnal animal)
11. Monkeys!
12. Unprocessed food (I've hardly eaten anything that came out of a package)
13. The gorgeous weather- I'm not looking forward to the smothering Maryland heat
14. The opportunity to learn and explore the environment at the same time... I've fallen in love with field studies
15. The personal growth, as a result of both in-classroom and social experiences

Some things from Brazil that I will NOT miss:
1. Not throwing toilet paper in the toilet... it's a little weird
2. Being perpetually damp
3. Bug bites (although I'm sure I'll get plenty of those in Maryland)
4. Hanging out with my classmates here (even though they're great)
5. MYSTERY CASSEROLES
6. My pain in the ass sand trap project
7. All the DRAMA and TRASH TALKING and BACK STABBING (see #4)
8. Sharing a room
9. Not really having enough clothes and definitely not having the clothes I want
10. Agonizingly slow Internet connection (I'd rather not have Internet at all)
11. Living out of a suitcase
12. Group presentation conflict; there's always snapping and yelling (Although my last group was awesome...and we definitely had the best presentation)
13. Being on our 3-building campus 95% of the time
14. School during the summer (It's been swell, but I'm ready to relax a little!)
15. Good lighting (This is so minor, but I haven't been able to tweeze my eyebrows properly for a month)

That may look like a long list of complaints, but I'm sure I could find just as many things (if not more) that I don't miss about home or school. I've had a BLAST in Brazil and the SEE-U program has really exceeded my expectations.

But in another week, I think I'll be ready to pack my bags and head back to North America.