2 posts in less than 24 hours, WHAT?

I have nothing to do before my exam. I feel fine about it, I'm not worried about it, and I don't feel like studying any more will help me. In that spirit, I've spent the last hour playing Text Twist online, making lunch, and getting my room checked by Tony from Uni Flats instead of studying. I just want this exam to be over. In the spirit of procrastination, I present to you a series of lists describing the leaving-NZ-coming-home process.

Things I Am Going to Miss About NZ:
1. Traveling every weekend to heaps of gorgeous new places that all look shockingly different, despite the small geographic size of the South Island
2. The Arcadia students that came on my program, and being able to drop by everybody's flat in a matter of minutes walking distance
3. Seeing sheep everywhere, even five minutes outside major metropolitan areas
4. Gladys the Gladiator, our strongas car who survived driving miles and miles over gravel roads, thousands of miles up and down the country, fording a few streams, and 24 years of life. She will be missed.
5. The friendly people everywhere, and how eager they are to talk to you, and how when they ask "where are you from" and you say "the States," they laugh and say "I know, but WHERE in the States?"
7. Living next to the childcare center and waving at the kids, especially when they're outside playing and wearing these goofy bright red hats to keep them warm
8. Living within walking distance of everything I need
9. The view of the mountains and Mt. Cargill and the park from my flat
10. Eating heaps of pumpkin and parsnip and other seasonal veggies
11. The phrases "heaps," "mate," "good on ya," "sweetas"
12. Actually, just being able to add "as" to the end of any word
13. Driving on the left side of the road (it's really grown on me)
14. Ending websites with ".co.nz" and reading it aloud as "dot co dot en zed"
15. Being able to buy Tim Tams at every grocery store, convenience store, dairy, gas station, etc.
16. Jane (our Arcadia program leader) and her giant grin and enthusiasm whenever we share our adventures with her and her cute emails that always start with "kia ora, Otago-possums" and end with "huge hugs, Jane"
17. Walking by extraordinarily cool gothic architecture on an average stroll through town
18. Joe's pineapple macaroni and cheese and quiche, the only two foods that he cooked almost the entire semester; Evan's food experiments that sometimes turned out delicious and sometimes turned out overspiced; how Jane always made me special lentil patties every time she made hamburgers; Jess's choco-nana muffins; the fact that Joe always hid in the pantry and tried to scare people by popping out; all of us shoving into the lounge to cuddle on the couch to warm up; the fact that Evan left coffee grounds EVERYWHERE whenever he tried to make coffee (actually, I might not miss that so much); playing Scrabble at dinner when nobody wanted to do homework; and generally anything related to the shenanigans of 515 Great King Street
19. The fact that as much as I loved my flat, I spent equally as much time at Dan and Patrick's because they heated their flat and how by the end of the semester, I had practically moved into their kitchen to get my studying done in a warm place (don't worry, I chipped in for their power bill too).
20. Getting a student discount almost everywhere in Dunedin

Things I Am Not Really Going to Miss About NZ :
1. Eating PBJs every weekend we go hiking--who woulda thunk they'd get so average after a while?
2. Seeing my breath indoors
3. Really, just constantly being cold whether it's indoors or outside
4. Having to wash my clothes 4 days before I'll need them because that's how long they take to dry
5. Never having a dry towel because things don't dry fast enough in our flat
6. Always having to eat Watties brand "tomato sauce" instead of regular ketchup
7. The fact that they have no idea what Mexican food is supposed to taste like and add celery and cabbage to burritos
8. Seeing sheep poop on the road constantly and wondering if you're stepping on it every time you walk through farmland
9. The kiwi mullet and the boys that thing they look cool with it (side note: Dan went to get his haircut yesterday, and the barber asked "do you want me to leave some in the back?"). Also, all the boys running around in short shorts that flap up all the time and the way they awkwardly don't even seem to notice.

Things I Am Looking Forward to at Home:
1. Seeing friends and family again
2. Lots and lots of food: cheerios, my SmartStart GoLean Crunch cereal, safeway brand macaroni and cheese, anything purchased from Trader Joe's, bagels and cream cheese, having fresh summer fruit veggies in season (pleeeeease say strawberries and blueberries and cherries are cheap now)
3. My hugeas bed and the fact that I won't have to put a hot water bottle in it to warm it up before I get in
4. Being able to turn right on red lights legally, and just generally being back in The Rock
5. Portland and subsequently, #6 and being able to explore even more areas of #5 now that I'll be allowed in
6. My birthday!
7. Summer weather and being able to wear all the tank tops I thought maybe I'd have a chance to wear in Dunedin (yeah right)
8. Having a more fully-stocked pantry and fridge
9. A fuller collection of shoes and clothes to choose from
10. Eventually going back to Oxy and seeing friends I haven't seen in eight months, and some in over a year