2 lists

Sitting on a bus for 6 hours with no book to read has led to the following 2 lists.

Things I am looking forward to:
-family and friends, of course.
-MY bed. Not the bed that countless others were in before me and will be once I leave. Not a bed I have to climb up a ladder to get into, (if there is a ladder, and it isn't facing a wall) and no polyester sheets.
-a fridge and cupboard full of things to eat and drink, that I can have at my whim, not worrying about how clean it is, if I can have another glass of something to drink or am I going on a bus for 6 hours... Or 8 or 12...or 26...
-no more backpack living! No cramming all I own into a limited space and carting it around. I would make a terrible turtle. Who wants to carry their home with them? Not me.
-speaking the local language. I didn't realize it as much in the Spanish part of South America, but Brazil has made me realize how valuable it is to understand and be understood.

Things I Will Miss:
-the adventures! The more you travel the more you realize how much there is out there to see, experience, adventure, taste, do... Even in Peru and Ecuador-- where we saw a lot-- there are still places I want to go see
-fruit. There are piles of fruits that we just don't get in Canada because they don't travel well. Maracuya (yellow fleshed passion fruit) might be the one I will miss most. Add the abundance of fruit to juice ladies in markets, blending 2+ flavours together for $1.50...
- Meeting people all the time, for better (and rarely, but sometimes, worse). Meeting fellow travelers from all over the world, meeting friendly locals who share their life with you. Life in Canada doesn't seem to provide the same sort of encounters
-the heat. I do miss sweaters and not sweating, but overall, give me summer. Unless you would like to start my car in the cold, and can get rid of all the slushy grey that seems to accompany winter in Southern Ontario.
-seeing tropical houseplants and summer annuals growing huge in the wild. So cool!
-my travel partner. It's a huge blessing to be able to travel with a friend for so long and still be friends at the end. And it's crazy to realize that we have spent more time together outside Canada than in it. Canada-- get smaller! (or flights at least get cheaper)