Some things I miss or will miss

Let's start with some things that I miss right now. Other than the usual; family, friends, and food (especially laksa), I miss reading.

Yes. Reading. Oh sure I've been reading research articles, but I've not been reading for leisure ever since I came to Sweden. Oh sure, there are public libraries, but they are not the NLB. I've never really realised how well funded the public libraries are back in the Little Red Dot, where you can get the latest releases and almost any genre available. Even our second hand bookshops that rent out books have so much to offer. The library here is a little disappointing, in my opinion. Oh sure, there are bookstores, but they are not Kino, or Borders. I miss holding a book in my hands, smelling its scent (I love the smell of new and very old books. Call me weird if you want. I am.), and devouring its contents.

I miss reading.

I miss the comfort of being in my own room, my own bed, doing things that I know so well. Heck, I think I miss the routine I had in the Little Red Dot. Yes, I know routines are bad, but they are comforting.

These are really material elements. What I really miss are still my family and friends.

Moving on to what I will miss... friends...

Weird isn't it. I miss the friends back home. And I'll miss the friends I made here when I return, actually more so since I know I'll probably not be seeing them much ever again. Friends back home are like a constant in my life. They will never disappear, but the friends here...

The first of the friends I made here is leaving this week. Grace, the Australian of Korean descent, is leaving. I'll certainly miss our weekends together, her crazy jokes, her kewl Aussie accent, and her larger than life personality. Lucy and Mitchell, both Aussies as well, and Angela (Columbia) will be leaving next week. Jana (CR), the week after. Lucie (France), Herbert, and Mattias (both Germany) in less than a months' time. And so on...

My world in Uppsala has started to get smaller, bit by bit.

It's paradoxical. I miss my friends at home, I miss the friends I made here. I can't have the best of both worlds. Knowing that this time, we will really be going in our separate directions to all corners of the world. No matter how we try to keep in touch via emails and such, the lack of physical closeness will kill the friendships built here. Perhaps that's why it's more difficult to see them go, one by one.

They've given me so many happy moments. When I was feeling down, cheered me up. When I was happy, celebrated with me. I will certainly miss the times we spent together.

Perhaps this time, the friendships forged here will continue despite the distances the separate us. Maybe we can set a time a place each year to meet. Perhaps it can be a different country each year? But deep down, I know this will never be possible.

I guess, at the end of the day, I miss and will miss personal relationships - the emotional element. I'm a social animal afterall.