What Do You Miss Most Overseas?

11/23/09  Print This Post Print This Post    26 Comments   Popular   Written by Linda Golden
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Feature Photo: gúnna Photo: joi

What do you dream about when you’re far from home?

After volunteering for two years in Togo
, I was ready to come home. Yet as my departure approached, the anxieties set in – with whom would I practice my French? Where would I eat plantains with rice and peanut sauce? Who would express as much excitement about my daily front door exit as the Togolese children?

I had no desire to extend my time, but the thought of malls, Fox News and the job search almost made me want to run screaming back to village.

Then I arrived and rediscovered some of the joys that I’ll probably start taking for granted in two months. But for now, I’ll continue reveling in:

1. Cheese

At home, there’s cheese on everything! Cheesy fries, extra cheese on pizza and a Parmesan shaker on the table, cheese fondue, free cheese at art openings, cheese enchiladas – how I missed you, cheese.

And while I’m on the topic of food, let’s talk about fruit. Apples are available for sale in the streets of big West African cities, but one costs the same price as two hard-boiled eggs or four small bags of plantain chips. I’ll sorely miss the mangos and pineapples of West Africa, but try finding fresh berries or peaches at an open-air market in Togo.

2. Seasons

Photo: *micky

Togo’s hot season, rainy season, and the windy season, called harmattan, are not the same as the standard winter, spring, summer, fall cycle. I usually run from cold weather, but now that I’ve experienced heat rash and hot season,

I’m ready to watch the leaves change, snuggle under a down comforter, don a scarf and make a snowman. Or at least watch the snow fall while drinking hot tea inside a heated house.

3. Extended daylight hours

Living near the equator means nightfall comes around 6 PM all year long. Sure, the day isn’t really longer at home, but when the sun sets at 9, it feels like I just got a gift certificate for extra hours. I’ll use my extra hours to go for an after-dinner walk, or read at an outdoor café until I have to start squinting around 8:45.

4. Hot showers

Photo: avancini

After two years of bathing from buckets and cold showers, I get excited every time it’s shower time. In Africa, I planned to save water when I returned by keeping my showers short, but my deep appreciation for hot water constantly flowing from the shower head has made this challenging.

Is there more waste in running the water or turning it on and off between shampooing and conditioning? Until I know for certain, I’ll have to let the hot water run.

5. Flush toilets (with toilet paper!)

Great for running to when the cheese, fresh berries and Wendy’s Frosty with fries give you digestion difficulties. In Togo, you can go just about anywhere if nature’s call is too loud and you’re not shy. If you’re well-prepared, you’ll have remembered to pack your paper handkerchiefs (for sale almost everywhere for about 20 cents).

Not so in the States. I haven’t tried it, but I think dropping my pants in the park or in an alley would get me arrested. But losing the freedom to go outside has been replaced with the knowledge that no matter where I am – on a road trip, in the park, at the store – a toilet is nearby. A flush toilet with toilet paper, a sink and paper towels or a hand drier. But I’ll take my paper handkerchiefs, just in case.

Community Connection

Expat life is a complicated mixture of emotions and experiences. Check out some of the the little things that make it worthwhile and read up on the expat conundrum and expat/tourist relationships.


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About the Author

Matador ID: ljgolden

Linda Golden has just finished two years of Peace Corps service in Togo and is trying to decide whether to get a "real job" or make ends meet randomly.

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26 Comments... join the discussion!

  • Sarah Menkedick replied on November 23, 2009

    I am right there with you on the cheese front. In Japan I could find some great stuff, but it was wicked expensive and I just couldn’t bear to shell out for it. In Mexico there’s good cheese, but none of the sharp cheddar or nasal brie I really crave at times. The grass is always greener…

    You know what else I miss? This is sad, but…potato chips. Kettle chips, in particular, the really good ones. I am a snack fiend and it’s just not the same here. And pickles! But I’ll stop there. Don’t miss peanut butter, though – I never liked it. I think I’m a rarity as far as Americans go.

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    • Linda replied to Sarah Menkedick on November 23, 2009

      Mmmm… Kettle chips. I forgot about those. I’ll have to get on that. And yeah, the grass is always greener. Winter’s on the way, as are the obscenely early Christmas decorations, and instead of enjoying it, I kinda want to skip it and spend it on the beach again.

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  • Abbie replied on November 23, 2009

    Flush toilets for sure.

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  • JoAnna replied on November 23, 2009

    I hear you about the showers. When I served as a PC in Kenya, I took extra long showers when I had to go to HQ and stay in a hotel. While the bucket bath *worked* in theory, it never failed that I would towel off and discover a huge dirty patch that the water never fully rinsed off.

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    • Linda replied to JoAnna on November 23, 2009

      Nice! Our HQ only had a cold water shower that we weren’t supposed to use.

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  • Stephanie replied on November 23, 2009

    Peanut butter and margaritas.

    … but not at the same time.

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    • Linda replied to Stephanie on November 24, 2009

      I missed margaritas a lot too. And Mexican food, although there were ingredients to make rockin’ salsa and guacamole. But no chips.

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  • Antigone replied on November 23, 2009

    i agree with all of those things linda. my trick in “saving water” is to only shower every 3 or so days. then you can take long ass guilt free showers. yeah! one other thing i missed was just the variety of foods availabe. sushi, italian, indian, raw!, or many grocery stores stocked fully with whatever your heart desires (and sometimes doesn’t) so that you yourself can cook whatever you want in your fully furnished kitchen with appliances (incluing a dishwasher..and i’m not talking about the kids). great article linda! felicitations!

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    • Linda replied to Antigone on November 24, 2009

      Every 3 days? We’re not in Togo anymore… although I guess it’s less of an issue since it’s not 90 degrees every day.

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  • aelle replied on November 24, 2009

    It’s always the food, definitely. I’m a vegan and my partner is lactose intolerant so we’re okay on the cheese front, but oh my god, the BREAD! I miss French bread so hard. The square, prepackaged, sweet thing they call bread makes me weep.

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  • Candice replied on November 24, 2009

    My bed. I’m a restless sleeper and I’ve purposely sought out the best bed in the entire world, so when I’m away from it, I’m always tired.

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  • maya replied on November 24, 2009

    silence. i’m living in a big city for the first time in my life, and the thing i miss most about home is quiet! closely followed by surfing (no waves in copenhagen) and decent thrift stores. and by decent i mean cheap, not a second-hand shop where the clothes are the same price as at H&M (as is the case in copenhagen). and last but definitely not least, mexican food!!!

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    • Linda replied to maya on November 24, 2009

      Yeah, I missed the good, cheap thrift stores when I lived in Geneva, too. Cheap second-hand clothes in Africa, though – not a problem.

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  • EvaSandoval replied on November 24, 2009

    When I lived in Japan, I missed cheese, drugstores, canned chicken broth, pizza by the slice, and the security of knowing that every public bathroom I entered would have a flushing toilet. Now that I live in Ireland, I still miss pizza by the slice. Come this Thursday, I will be missing turkey. Sigh.

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  • AnnaI replied on November 24, 2009

    Maybe I’m weird, but I don’t miss much. And since I’ve lived “overseas” all my life, I might occasionally long for particular things from particular countries, but on the whole, if you don’t know where “home” is you can’t miss things from “home”.

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  • Kate replied on November 24, 2009

    I’m with you guys on the thrift stores and I also miss spicy food, bagels and decent pickles.

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  • Nancy replied on November 25, 2009

    I missed ice, bagels, and a comfortable bed.

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  • Turner replied on November 25, 2009

    The variety of food is what gets me.

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  • Wendell & Clara Golden replied on November 25, 2009

    Linda knows what it means to adjust to what ever situation she finds her self in.
    When she graduated from a private HS she was given 12 awards. In college Linda made a significant contribution to the school paper as well as holding down two or three jobs. Linda is blessed with an American father and a Swiss mother. Speaking different languages is not a problem for Linda. Hiking in the Swiss Alps is a way of life for Linda. Where ever she is Linda adopts to the situation.
    Linda entered a Marathron while teaching AIDS in Togo. How do we know these things, we are her grandparents.

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    • Linda replied to Wendell & Clara Golden on November 25, 2009

      Hehehe… uh… thanks, Grandma and Grandpa (I wish you’d added what you missed in all your travels).

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  • Kimberly replied on December 2, 2009

    I miss Reese´s Peanut Butter Cups , Dungeness Crab , Sourdough bread , Dr.Pepper and Root Beer , and Target stores to get cheap everyday stuff.

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  • Ashley G. replied on December 20, 2009

    While you can get almost anything your heart desires in Panama, it all comes at a price… a hefty price. So while I splurge occasionally, there are still some things that are out of the budget: pickles, reuben sandwiches, and cheesecake!

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  • Radhika replied on April 22, 2010

    What do I miss about the States when I’m in India or vice versa?

    In India, I crave Tex-Mex, flush toilets for sure, and being able to walk down the street without 10,000 different pairs of eyes staring at me. In terms of the variety of food available, India is ridiculously diverse, so you could walk down the block in any major Indian city and find everything: dosa, roti, chaat, paneer…mmm.

    In the U.S., I crave spicy street food (there’s nothing like a roti roll or pav bhaji when you’re drunk in Bandra at 2 am), the companionship of my family, and abundant public transport (I’m from Texas, so that’s certainly lacking.)

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    • Linda replied to Radhika on July 21, 2010

      Radhika – I miss Tex-Mex when I’m anywhere that’s not Texas, and I miss street food now that I’m back in the States. Fast food is not comparable.

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  • Miquel replied on July 8, 2010

    While Matador articles generally annoy me, this one is actually spot on and I can relate a good deal having just returned from time spent in Côte d’Ivoire with massive country-wide rolling blackouts.

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  • Pam replied on July 8, 2010

    Funny. When I was in Ghana, cheese was first on my “most-missed-things” list too. :)

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