It’s been two countries and almost two months, and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t feel twinges of homesickness once and a while. I talk a pretty good game about being stoked to be away for who knows how long, but sometimes it hits me that I don’t know when I’ll see my friends and family again. And all it takes is for me to log on to facebook to discover that a friend’s baby has been born, or that there’s yet another wedding that I’m going to miss, or just an epically fun night out that I wasn’t there to witness for it to really sink in.  I love the Jet Set Zero crew, but they just don’t cut it for being able to take my mind off the fact that I’m so far away from home.  So it doesn’t happen often, but there are points when the homesickness finds its way through a fissure in my relatively tough shell.

So what do I do when this happens?  Usually, a Skype call to a few select people is enough to brighten my day, but lately the internet has been intermittent at best and the call is more frustrating than anything.  So I’ve had to find alternatives.  Some people take great comfort in the familiar taste of a McDonald’s french fry in their mouth when they’re missing home, but unfortunately, there are no McD’s here.  Instead, I’ve developed a different tactic.

The first thing I do is put on my iPod and select a playlist designed by a close friend with a collection of my all-time favourite songs.  I turn it up loud to try and block the sounds of traffic and horns.  And then I go to the local supermarket.

There’s something about a big, air-conditioned, modern supermarket that makes me forget where I am.  I don’t actually need to buy anything, but I take great pleasure in going up and down the aisles and spotting Pringles, Knorr Soup Mix, Nescafe, Spam, Lipton tea, Snickers, Listerine, Colgate toothpaste, Juicy Fruit gum, Oreos and Fruit Loops.  I briefly consider buying a huge block of blue cheese and some Ritz crackers and think better of it (on this particular day, I’d probably eat the entire thing in one sitting).  They have big bottles of Wyborowa vodka (my favourite) for $15 but again, this is probably a bad idea.  Then I spot a package of Chicken-flavoured Instant Porridge and some unidentifiable meat products and remember that I’m still in Asia.  But for those few precious moments, I have escaped back home.

So much cheese. Love it.