Things I miss about home

With the positive there has to be the negative as well, right? So here are some of the things that I miss about home:

1. Family
I'm close to my parents and sister, so being half way around the world from them is tough at times. Especially the time difference....working out the best time to call can be tricky sometimes! If I'm totally truthful, modern technology (mobile phones, email, Facebook, Skype etc) is a great help.....but doesn't completely substitute for seeing people you love in person...or for my mum's home cooking!

2. The weather
As I've said before, I grew up in Australia - warm to hot summers, cool weather in winter. After moving here last year, I experienced the coldest UK winter for 30 years (or so the media said). Lets just say, it was somewhat of a shock to the system....I miss the sun, warm weather, and summer days actually being *hot*

3. The beach


one of the beaches in a National Park near to where I used to live



I've always lived within close proximity to the beach (the last place I lived before moving here, I was 10 minutes walk from the beach). And, the Australian beaches are beautiful....crystal clear blue water and sparkling white sand......

The closest beach to me now is about 1.5 hours away by train.....and the sand is actually pebbles. When I visited, it was somewhat overcast, and the water was kind of a dull blue colour.....certainly a change from what I'm used to.

4. Friends

I've got a few friends that I went to highschool with that I'm particularly close to. We have the type of friendship where we don't see each other on a regular basis, but when we do.....it's like we last saw each other yesterday. Again, modern technology helps us stay in contact, but I still miss them (especially my friend who was also over here for a year before heading home a few months ago)

5. Food

I'm the first to admit, I have somewhat of a sweet tooth. And while I like British chocolate/sweet things, there's some food from home that I miss......some of which include - Arnott's Shapes, Tim Tams, Schweppes' soft drinks, Allen's lollies, and Cherry Ripes. There is an Australian store where you can get these things, but the prices are somewhat prohibitive. My family do send some stuff over though (mostly around celebrations - I make sure what I get lasts!) . Like I said, I like British chocolate, but definitely thinks it tastes different to Australian....

So there you have it. A few of the things that I miss from home. I'll probably think of things to add to this list too.