Fall just isn't the same here!!!!

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO finally being caught up with the blogs feels SOOOOOO good!!!!:) I can actually write stuff now and not have to strain my brain and try and think about the last month and what happened!!! Anyways being away now from Minnesota for 3 months there are definitely some things I miss!!! First and foremost family and friends!!! Granted if I was still in Minnesota NO ONE would be around cause they're all away from the metro anyways, but I'd be closer to them than half way across the world!!!!:) One thing I really miss is the Minnesota fall!!! Yeah, living there for 23 years it can get repetitious and tedious, BUT now that I'm actually gone from it for the entire fall season there are definitely some little thins about Minnesota falls I miss that one day I will want to live forever in!! One is the coloring of the leaves and the cool weather that comes with it!!! The air is so fresh and perfect at that time of year!! Another thing I find I'm missing are the apple orchards!!! Picking apples during the fall with my mom is something I did last year, that I hadn't done in such a long time and it was the BEST time ever!!! Can't find that in India, especially not being able to pick the apples off the trees and eating them!! Freakin die of polio if you did that here!!! But not in Minnesota, you can pick as many as you want and eat as many as you want while you pick!!! And they are fresh and delicious!!!!!:) Going to a pumpkin patch and picking out that perfect pumpkin to carve for Halloween!!! The leaves rustling under your feet as you walk, and throwing dried out cow manuer at friends as you walk through the field!!! Then get home and leave the extra pumpkin you got for a roommate sit on the floor all winter and become molded to it when you finally check on it in the Spring!!! Mike that is still your fault!!!:) Heck also Sunday football games!!!! Sitting around the tv with friends and family watching the Vikings or whoever your favorite team is kick the crap out of the Packers with their former quarterback they've had for years, or whoever your rival team is!!!:) HA in your face Packer Nation!!!! All the while you have a bar-b-que going grilling up that burger or hot dog, or brautwurst!!!! Then after the game sitting on the porch or outside lawn with the temp being just cold enough you need a sweatshirt!!! Finally being able to sit outside at night under the stars without a million misquitoes biting your flesh and buzzing around your ears!!!! Also the MINNESOTA STATE FAIR!!! Something almost every Minnesotan looks forward to in the fall!! Fried food on a stick, crazy inventions in the Agriculture building!!! Weather that is perfect for being outside for 13 hours straight from sunrise to sunset!!! All makes for one expensive, but fun day!!! All of these thoughts are in my head today, cause on Thursday when I was over at the Mark's house they had a Duluth picture book, not as random as you think, their daughters go to St. Scholastica in Duluth!!! I was looking at all of the pictures and I'm like what the heck, WHERE WAS I in Duluth to miss all of these wonderful sites!! I couldn't believe the pictures that were taken right under my nose!!! You live in one place for such a long time, that place being Minnesota, and you don't even bother really "seeing" what is around you, and what opportunities you have to see beautiful streams or rocks or leaves or nature trails!!! I thought I had to get away to India to see nature at it's finest, which I cannot lie it has been absolutely amazing here, but looking at that book there are equally enough chances back in the states to find that beauty in nature I sought out for!! Now I'm not writing this because I'm feeling homesick and I cry myself to sleep each night thinking I made this horrible mistake!! Trust me NOT DOING THAT!!!!!:) I absolutely love it here and can see myself here for 3-5 years!!! All I'm saying is I definitely know now that I eventually will move back to the states and settle someplace with seasons!!!! Coming to India I had no idea what to expect!! And right now they have exceeded all of my expectations!! However, one question I could not know until I arrived and become settled was how long I could live here!! Could it be forever? Could it only be a year? Could it only be 6 months? Well I know for sure I will be here for my entire 3-year contract, and maybe another 1-2 years on top of that!! But there are so many things I want to do/miss in the states that I know I eventually will return to live the rest of my life there!!! Living in Delhi for 3 days solitifies that I will NOT live someplace hot year round! No thanks to that!!! I think what has made living Mussoorie such an easy transition is the weather!! It is SO similar to Minnesota, just minor difference seperate a Minnesota fall and Mussoorie fall, which is comforting!!!:) And the size of the town!! After leaving Delhi and Dehradun, returning to a nice peaceful town like Mussoorie, similar to Shakopee and Duluth make the living pleasant and relaxing!! One option I will never pursue, living in a HUGE city!! Noooo thank you!!! Simpler the better!! As I eat my PBJ with potato chips for lunch!!!:) Oh you better believe you can find PBJ in India!!! You go to the bazaar, buy some whole wheat bread, jam, and peanut butter and BAM pbj Indian style!!!:) Also, what's really nice about Mussoorie is you still have the Western food option!! Yeah when you first arrive having all of these exotic choices is awesome, but guaranteed in the long run you will crave that pizza or pbj sandwhich every once in a while, and it's comforting to know you can find it here!!!;) Well that's all I got on my mind for today!!! Thanks for listening!! Miss all of you still so much!!! However, would not trade this experience in for anything, STILL VERY VERY VERY GLAD I am here in India!!!!!!!:)