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Espresso and Ambition

A not-so-serious gal with some serious dreams.

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5 Stupid Things Studying Abroad Has Made Me Miss

February 3, 2017 by Taylor 2 Comments


The other day it occurred to me that most of the things I generally miss about the U.S. are really random, insignificant things. I generally find myself missing little conveniences of life much more often than the big stuff that you’d generally expect me to miss, like my hometown or my apartment. So for today’s blog post, I’m documenting the “5 Stupid Things Studying Abroad Has Made Me Miss.”

 

1. Chinese/Mexican food

When I say this, I don’t even mean I miss the authentic stuff (although I still miss that stuff too). But what I really miss is the cheap, Americanized Chinese and Mexican restaurants like Panda Express and Barberito’s. Granted, there’s actually a lot of food I miss (the British aren’t exactly known for their cuisine, after all), but these two genres of food are somehow the ones I miss the most.

 

2. Knowing what slang words mean

I genuinely feel so disconnected from popular culture. While, on one hand, I don’t know what a lot of British slang words mean because I’m not from here, I also don’t know what most of new American phrases mean. When the whole “how bow dah” thing became big, it literally took me two weeks to figure out what on earth people are talking about. Studying abroad creates this awkward in-between of cultures wherein you’re not really involved in either culture fully and it’s just weird.

 

3. Sephora

While I miss this, I’m sure my wallet doesn’t. For some reason, despite there being Sephora stores all over Europe, there aren’t any in the UK. I miss the convenience of being able to go to one place to stock up on all of my favorite products at once instead of chasing them down all over the place, and I miss the free 2-day shipping program that my Sephora card has in the US. I really could modify this to say that I miss online shopping in general, because I honestly just miss getting a new package once or twice a week (yes, I do shop online that much – it’s a problem).

 

4. Driving

I’m one of those people that actually weirdly loves driving places. It’s almost somewhat calming to me, and I love that it’s kind of an escape from everything else. When you’re driving, you don’t feel like you should be doing something else instead, because you genuinely can’t be doing anything else while driving. In the passenger seat, you get that guilty feeling of “I should be doing my homework or reading or something.” The concept of driving here terrifies me though; I don’t think I could handle driving on the left side of the road with my seat on the right side. Nope, not for me.

 

 

When you buy a fancy coffee thinking “wow, this is only three pounds!” only to have it hit you that you really just spent like $5 on a tiny coffee.

5. A solid concept of how much things cost

I feel like I spend significantly more money abroad than I do at home (despite the whole not shopping online thing) purely because my sensitivity to what’s actually expensive is diminished. Since a pound is worth more than a dollar, I’ll see something that’s only 5 pounds and think to myself “wow, that’s so cheap!” without even considering that it’s realistically about 1.25 times that cost when converted to dollars. I only have a really solidified sense of how much I’ve spent when I look at my credit card bill, which is probably not the best place to have to check for that sort of thing.

 

So there you go: five random, ridiculously specific things I miss about America. Although if you look at it in the grand scheme of things, I’ll still happily go without those five in exchange for all of the amazing things I’m experiencing here. For example, as I’m writing this, I’m sitting in a hostel in Edinburgh getting ready to go climb Arthur’s Seat – and I wouldn’t trade that for all the Panda Express and Sephora in the world.

xo, Taylor

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Filed Under: Etc., Study Abroad, Travel

Comments

  1. Rae says

    February 5, 2017 at 10:43 am

    What a cool post! I’ve never lived abroad, so I often take these simple pleasures for granted! Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Rae
    Mindful Rambles

    Reply
  2. Shannon says

    February 9, 2017 at 2:43 pm

    I studied abroad last school year in Italy for a semester and as much as I loved it there, I definitely still missed certain aspects of home. For me, it was Chick fil a! Luckily my parents picked me up from the airport and we went straight there! Enjoy your time in Europe while you can! It flies by way too fast!

    xoxo

    Shannon | http://www.prepavenue.com

    Reply

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Meet Taylor

A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

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tayy_kay

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🔥 life + fitness
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🎥 new vids weekly!

Instagram post 2195844312121366575_7729751 it’s not a real mirror selfie unless it comes with a free where’s waldo game of my cats 😸😸 they’re truly excellent little photobombers, lol
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shop this look by following me on @liketoknow.it or by copy-pasting this link into your browser: http://liketk.it/2I02c 🖤 #liketkit
Instagram post 2192513994027168715_7729751 ⏩ swipe ⏩ to see a magic trick! ✨ok ok, not actually magic, but @teamiblends butterfly tea DOES change color when you add a squeeze of lemon, thanks to pH-sensitive butterfly pea flower 🌸 so maybe it’s not ~magic~, but it is ~science~ 👩🏼‍🔬
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get your own (and get experimenting) with the code taykay20 for 20% off an order of $24+ or taykay30 for 30% off an order of $34+! 🤑 #teamipartner
Instagram post 2191777887535233534_7729751 full workout, one machine!! 😛 smith machines are honestly great, and they don’t get enough love - they’re excellent when you’re first starting out with lifting and need that extra bit of stabilisation that comes from keeping the weight on a fixed track, and there are a number of exercises i find i like better on a smith machine than anywhere else - especially some of these!
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ready? let’s go:
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1️⃣ 3 sets of 6 sumo squats to narrow squats (so 12 squats total) - the narrow ones are death for your inner thighs in a way that no other leg exercise can match ☠️
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2️⃣ 3 sets of 10 curtsy lunges per leg to 10 good mornings - drop your hips back and keep your spine flat as you get as close to parallel with the ground as possible, and really focus on contracting your hamstrings to bring yourself upright again
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3️⃣ 3 sets of 10 kneeling kickbacks per leg - i forgot how much i love these they are just so!! good!! - into 10 single-leg incline glute bridges per leg

4️⃣ 4 sets of 12 half squats to finish this off - mind muscle connection is key here, really focus on squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement to make the most of this one! also if this hurts your knees skip it altogether - sometimes these aren’t for everyone and that’s perfectly ok!!
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🎧 woah - neffex
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Instagram post 2187385382881912295_7729751 got a whole lot to be thankful for this year (including but not limited to these pants) 🌟
Instagram post 2185989836220911104_7729751 that dead lil plant in the corner is a mood. i don’t know what kinda mood, but it’s a mood. ☠️
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new youtube video just went up on my channel - it’s a fun core + cardio workout that you’ll def wanna try! link is in bio ☺️
Instagram post 2184435918311263145_7729751 world’s cutest cover photo amirite?? 😅 ok but what IS actually cute is all these exercises targeting your gluteus medius, which is the muscle on the sides of your booty that play a crucial role in hip movement and also can help give the illusion of wider hips (which is super helpful if you’re built like me and have no natural curves whatsoever!! fake it til ya make it babyyyyyy)
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do all four exercises back to back with no rest, then rest for ~1 minute, and repeat 2 more times! throw this in the middle or the end of your leg day ☺️
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1️⃣ 12 lateral leg lifts - even though you’re holding the plate with your arm, it shouldn’t be lifting the weight up at all, that alllllll should come from the legs. also make sure you’re not swinging your leg and are really focused on feeling it on those side glutes (and also a little in your obliques, bonus ab work!!)
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2️⃣ 5 4-step squat walks - so two steps to the left two to the right is one rep. resistance band isn’t 100% necessary but man oh man does it make it 10x harder 🔥
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3️⃣ 10 fire hydrants with a pulse at the top - focus on keeping weight equally distributed on both hands so that you don’t sink into the opposite hip too much. also maybe don’t use an extra heavy resistance band for this one because i was DYING SO MUCH and i couldn’t even get my leg up to 90 degrees 😂
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4️⃣ 15 frog pumps - feet together, knees out, you look like a weirdo but it really is an excellent exercise i swear
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#legday #legdayworkout #workoutsforwomen #glutes #glutesworkout #gymlifestyle #exercisemotivation #exerciseroutine #gymworkout #musclebuilding #fitlifestyle #bootygains #bootybuilding
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shop this outfit (and maybe buy a jacket to go with it) by following me on the @liketoknow.it  app or by pasting this link into your browser: http://liketk.it/2HaPV ❣️ #liketkit #LTKunder50 #LTKholidaystyle #alsoidkwhyimstandingsoweird #whereismyspine
Instagram post 2179321133647360332_7729751 first of all, can someone please tell me where the HECK the first half of november went?? i’m lost 🥴 but i’ve got an ABSolutely stellar ab circuit for you on this fine sunday (will i ever not use that pun? doubtful), be sure to bookmark and save for your next gym session!
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1️⃣ 10 plank walk outs to commandos - focus on keeping your core tight throughout this entire movement to really maximise the effect!
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2️⃣ 10 3-part mountain climbers per leg - leg goes outside, across, then straight, and that’s one rep!
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3️⃣ 15 pause sit-ups - sit up approximately ¾ of the way (so that there’s still tension in your abs) and hold for 1 second before finishing the movement
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4️⃣ 10 single-leg hollow crunches per leg - these are SO MUCH HARDER than you expect them to be omggggg. if this is too tricky, use the modification at the end of this clip and put your feet on the floor.
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5️⃣ 12 1-1-2 leg lifts - drop one leg down, then the other, then lift both up at the same time! make sure to only go down as far as YOU comfortably can without your lower back lifting off the mat - going past that point will actually make the exercise LESS effective for your core. 😉
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cycle through this 2-3 times for a 10/10 burn 🔥🔥🔥 .
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