It’s Springtime
Spring is here, thank goodness. The past few days have been really lovely. It rains a lot, but the cherry trees are in bloom and it’s a kind of beautiful that I’ve never seen before. It makes me very happy.
This is actually in the parking lot of my school. There are a ton of cherry trees in that area.
Towards the end of winter I caught myself checking the weather on my phone and seeing a temperature like 41 degrees and saying, “Wow, 41 degrees! Warm!” Then I would catch myself. What has this place done to me? I’m now thrilled when I only have to wear 2 pairs of fleece tights instead of 3.
It’s only 4 months until I come home. Then I can go back to being a real Phoenician, someone who isn’t happy unless it’s 80+ degrees outside. I’m mentally making a list of the first things I want to do when I get home. One of the first things is to get a really short haircut. It’s hard to find an English-speaking barber here, so my hair is a lot longer than I’d like. On the plus side, the students no longer mistake me for a man. I’ve started pinning it back to keep it out of my face and the first time I did, a possibly-insincere student said to me, “Teacher! Hairstyle. Good job.” But the fact is, it drives me crazy. First day or two I get back: buzzzzzzzz.
When I get home, I’m going to eat like I just got out of a prisoner of war camp. Which is strange, because I’m not in a prisoner of war camp; there’s plenty to eat here. But I do miss a lot of things. Here are the first things I want to eat when I get home:
Vegetarian “Straw Sandwiches” as prepared by Mr. Uncle Diana (Aunt…Jason?).
Greek pizza from Pizza Heaven.
Filiberto’s burritos.
Veggie sandwiches from Cheese ‘n Stuff and AZ Bread Company.
Green. Green Green Green. I hear there’s one by my house now.
Any kind of fake meat. Veggie burgers don’t exist here.
Chinese food from Gourmet House of Hong Kong. Yeah, I know, I’m spitting distance from China, you’d think the Chinese food I get here would blow that out of the water, but I just crave the phony American kind I ate for years, OK?
Dolmades. These things are amazing but take forever to make so maybe I can bribe Dana into making them for me.
Those potato wedges from the grocery store deli.
Falafel pita sandwiches with Goddess dressing.
Pierogies with onions and fake bacon.
As much chips and salsa as I want, since I don’t have to hoard the good stuff.
Pizza crepes from Jobot.
OK, I need to stop. As much as I sit around daydreaming about Filiberto’s now, I know that when I get back to Phoenix I’m going to start craving cheap bibimbap from those ubiquitous kimbap places that are the exact Korean equivalent of Filiberto’s. Seriously: the interior look like Filiberto’s, the menu looks the same, they all have a similar looking orange sign even if it’s not part of the big chain, it’s quick, the food is the same price and quality. My old man coined the term “Bibimberto’s” while he was here. I will also miss the crappy iced coffee drinks you can get at the convenience stores; I loooooove those things. I’ll probably have a blog post just about them some day.
Uncle Diana's Family Feedbag 
You totally will miss all of that! I miss all the combini store food and the great meals from little mom and pop restaurants. Actually I think I miss the food the most from Japan.