My gratitude/"miss-you" list, in pictures.

Living abroad isn't always easy, even in Swissneyland.  Everything's just a little different, from the language I have to speak to the  grocery stores.  And as I've found in the past week, even one of my favorite American/family traditions of dying Easter eggs has turned out to be harder than expected.  Giving up my very independent life to be a part of a community for a while offers a whole other set of challenges. 

To put everything in perspective, I started my mental "thankful for" list.  Specifically, I'm focused on the little things in life, the small blessings rather than the big things like family, friends, etc. that go without saying. Here it is, complete with pictures.

Things I'm incredibly thankful for: 

When the sun actually comes out and I can see snow-capped mountains shining in the distance.

This is Annecy, but you get the idea. 

How our closest mountain, the Saleve, has a slightly different personality every day.  I might be a little obsessed, but it's the little things in life, right?

When Sr. G speaks English.  I've never heard "Good Morning," uttered with such enthusiasm.  It kind of just makes it a good day.

When I go walking or running and find undiscovered beautiful places I haven't found before (seriously, I'm realizing in doing this that Switzerland is maybe the only place I've been where I appreciate the natural landscape more than the social one)

My morning espresso, seen here as part of a typical breakfast

How just when I think the UN is a bunch of talk, I attend an event and observe something that restores my faith in the importance of international cooperation.

How Swiss grocery stores have changed the way I think about chocolate.

How some of my favorite songs just make more sense here (I felt the same thing about other songs in Southern California)

The random things I miss the most:

Being totally understood.  Even when my audience understands English, I always feel like there's a tiny bit that gets lost.  At least Bad Bat still gets me.

Sports that aren't soccer/football.  Specifically, basketball.  A British Pub on my birthday, KU vs. K-State was as close as I got.

American craft beer.  My European colleagues don't get that we don't all drink Bud, which is sad.   Actually I miss beer in general here, but mostly because I can't afford it.  ~$10 for Guinness?  Forget it.

That exercise was really therapeutic.  I should do this more often.  What does your gratitude list look like?