Happy half-anniversary to me! It's been six months since I left the US for Uganda. I'm finally feeling settled in my house (now that I've bought a couch), and I'm starting to really, really to miss things from home. Aside from the obvious (loved ones), some of the things that I miss:

• Home postal service. Even when it's just catalogs, it's nice to come home and find things that weren't there when you left. I've only received 2 pieces of personal mail so far: 1) the Saddleback Valley News and 2) a letter from my friend Gen.
• Soy sauce. I've tried every brand available here from Pearl River to American Garden, and I'm dying for some Kikkoman. Who knew there were so many ways to make bad soy sauce? And that sometimes its not even salty?
• The Subway. Driving can be fun, bet there are those rainy mornings when I just don't want to deal with the >30km of driving to Entebbe, dodging trucks, bikes, people, animals, potholes, and who knows what else. Getting on the train with a cup of coffee and not paying attention to how you got there feels like an absolute luxury right now.
• Fall (and soon, winter). It's almost always sunny. Like California, but better. Changing seasons has always been one of my favorite parts of living in New York. Why I bothered packing a few sweaters and cords, I'll never know.
• Paying with plastic. No paying with a debit card. No online payments for anything. Every now and then, you can pay for something via text message (it deducts airtime from your cellphone) - one area where almost everyone's got the US beat.
• Fruits that I understand. Lemons, oranges and limes - all green. The pumpkins are green, too. I miss mushrooms and peaches and just about anything that isn't a cabbage or tomato or banana. Although we do have great mangos, pineapple and avocado.