It’s not that I’m a super materialistic person, but there are some things I truly miss from home. Like a drying machine that actually dries my clothes or actual AC and heating in my room. It’s “little” things in the U.S. that I take for granted and find myself missing. My laundry had been hanging over shelves and a drying rack for 3 days and still not fully dry. And since it’s getting colder now, I try to keep the window closed so it isn’t humid feeling in the room but they take longer to dry and leave a wet smell in the room. It’s truly painful. I visited my roommate’s hometown, Skarszewy, Poland, and in her home, I was amazed at how their washing room looked. There were lines that you could pull down and string back up to maximize hanging space. But still, I would rather have a drying machine from Samsung that sings to me when the load is finished.

I will say though, I live for the way some people decorate their homes here and some common features in some houses. I become wide-eyed astonished looking at some stuff because I’m jealous I’ve never seen it or it’s not as common in the U.S. as should be.

I think most people can agree that the United States needs to invest in better public transport. Denver is definitely one of the better cities for transport, but it still doesn’t truly live up to the train, tram, and bus system that’s set up in European countries. El Paso’s public transport is practically non-existent, really only with city buses that not many people take, and the city is too large to make your way around on foot. Brno itself is walkable, but the buses & trams and the way they are scheduled make everything feel organized and like a short journey. I don’t miss the RTD as much as I will miss the tram here. I do feel though that I will go back to using public transport more in Denver like when I first moved there until it becomes inconvenient. I say inconvenient because half the time I would ride the RTD before it usually makes me late even if I left earlier or just be uncomfortable due to other riders. Also, most people know how to behave on public transport here, they aren’t intoxicated beyond belief or indecently exposing themselves. I have witnessed an older gentleman get pickpocketed on a bus, which was super sad, but I think it just made me feel like I needed to watch my belongings more than making me feel uneasy.

My love for the consistency in public transportation here has probably had more of an effect on my sense of urgency than I realize. I’m sure that my internship and school schedule feel more laid-back than what I am used to in the U.S. also does that. It’s not that I’m not busy, but with the approach, everyone has around professional-personal life balance- the personal gets more time. I feel like usually I’m a rushed person, between my many things to do, travel times between places and always trying to keep my word on plans I’ve made with others. I grew up always feeling immense guilt when I’m running late and still can’t manage to make it on time sometimes due to traffic, parking, or Uber wait times. Here, I still feel my internal guilt and rushing but not as heavy. My schedule feels full but there are times for many breaks and the transportation around the city lessens travel time between classes, home, work, and fun.

There are things from the United States I miss, like the drying machine that I take for granted and hot chips, that if I had here would make leaving next month harder. But there are so many things here I wish I could just pack up and take with me. The remaining time I have in Brno I will spend appreciating the little things that I’ll be missing when I’m back home. Obviously, public transportation isn’t a little thing, but I’ll soon be missing the ease of how it functions here heavily. I’ll also miss the ease of how “Czech” time functions as well and how that makes me calmer while still productive. I just won’t miss the amount of time it takes my clothes to dry.