Pumpkin Spice and things that are nice

I have had a few comments lately (not here obviously, nobody ever leaves a comment here..) about my hating(?!) on America.
Well, I admit that there might have been some less enthusiastic postings lately, but hey…there’s no hating. There’s frustration and unfamiliarity and homesickness but no hate.

So, to make amends or whatever, here are some things I love about the US.

Malls. Seriously, I do. I know lots of people despise them and consider them a stereotypical symbol of everything that is wrong with this country. But ever since I first stepped foot in Mall of America, Minnesota I’ve been smitten. True, every mall I’ve been to since have been smaller, nothing beats the mega mall, but I still like the smaller ones too. I can spend hours looking for nothing and everything, time stops when I step into a mall.

Candy coffee. This is my own term for coffee tasting like Hazelnut, French Vanilla, Peppermint Chocolate, a million other flavours and my latest favourite, Pumpkin Spice. At home, a splash of milk in your dark roast is almost a sign of weakness. Here you have cowboys dumping tablespoons of Caramel Toffee in their coffee mugs. Love it.

Pretzels. However they come, soft with super orange, super fake processed cheese, tiny and salty, braided honey wheat, chocolate covered, I love them. A warm, fresh pretzel while shopping in a mall…. Oh yeah.

Thrift stores. Before coming here I had only been to Swedish second hand stores and unless you have enough money to spend your time in regular stores and are in Stockholm or Gothenburg, there’s really no need to bother. But here they are both cheap and places for great finds. Not always, but often enough.

Public restrooms. Not that I love being in them, but I do appreciate that you have them. Everywhere. And they are always free.

Okay there’s definitely more but that’s what I can come up with of the top of my head right now.

They say home is where your heart is. But your heart can be in more place than one. Home will always be Sweden. But home is also where my mail comes to, where I sleep and where my husband and cat are waiting for me.