cravings

i have been doing so well, really i have. the last 9 months i have thoroughly enjoyed living in thailand, only missing home briefly during the obama inauguration when i felt a need to be a part of america.

the only thing to rival my patriotism is sure to be food. you people are all grilling and eating ice cream and going out on the lake over there. torture. i have developed unbelievable cravings for:

• talenti gelato. absolute decadent heaven. ice cream here tastes like chalk. do yourself a favor and buy some talenti gelato at whole foods. it also comes in a stylish jar that i swore i would save and re-use but never did. my favorite is mediterranean mint.
• the LAKE. we have a lake here too but it has water-borne diseases and no wakeboarding.
• taco freaking deli.
• baking. i don't have an oven here, so i am totally missing baking. i'm not exactly a big baker, but i am fiending baked goods and even the act of baking. weird.
  
• my family. but don't tell them; they get all superior and sentimental like "oooh you miss us."
  
• first thursday on south congress. walking around, getting a cupcake, window shopping and feeling like austin is the coolest city in the world.
  
• live music, live music, live music. sure, people play music here but they are inevitably acoustic covers of someone i wouldn't listen to in the first place. i need ephraim. i need jazz. i need a paul banks show. something spontaneous and with energy.
  
• grilling. they grill (strange, unidentifiable meat products) here but i want to grill a mango for this dessert that i make, grill a texas peach or a salmon steak. shish kabobs! man, i love shish kabobs.
  

see? all of a sudden my perspective has changed and everything about thailand sucks. but not really. we're having fantastic storms since it's rainy season and it's crazy fruit season so there's tons of fruits available for really cheap. oh and lorne is coming to visit soon, we're going to china and we've made lots of friends and started going to a church here in phayao. i just wish i could go to austin on weekends... when we're back for a visit in september you can be sure to find me at our lakehouse baking and grilling and boating, possibly simultaneously. happy summer.