Last night here in the States for a year — unless I decide to blow all of my money on a plane ticket back home at some point. I’m hoping I won’t cave. Maybe I’m hoping that I will.

So tomorrow I will be spending pretty much an entire day waiting at airports or on a plane, after which it will magically be Monday evening in Beijing. Hello, new life. Still, I can’t help feeling a little (very) sad about things I will miss. Things such as (in kind of a particular order):

• (Ex)Boyfriend
• And subsequently, sex. Even in the unlikely event that an Asian guy is attracted to me, there’s still the very likely chance that he doesn’t know how to do it safely.
• Dairy. In China, milk comes in a bag. It’s not even refrigerated. It’s weird and creeps me out, so I’m going to miss milk. I’m also going to miss milkshakes and ice cream (which is kind of expensive). And I’m a sucker for creamy stuff, like creme brulee. And cheese!
• Other desserts, like cupcakes and pies and tarts and cheesecakes and, well, ice cream.
• Ovens. How am I going to bake desserts? Chinese people don’t seem to like things that concentrate heat in a box. They don’t have dryers, either, so I’m also going to miss soft, warm clothes fresh from the dryer.
• Clothes, in general. I left two-thirds of my skirts and dresses at home. I used to be able to wear a different dress or skirt for two whole months.
• Driving. I used to hate it, but what a difference a year makes! It’s nice to have that control, feel that superiority, and know I’m better than 99 percent of people out there. And on the many long drives back and forth between home and Chapel Hill, I loved speeding down the interstate with my favorite songs blasting and my mind wandering. You can’t really do that in Beijing.

Anyway. There’s more, like America and freedom and the like. But in an effort to not feel too sad about leaving all of these things behind, I am reminded that there is one thing I will not miss:

• Oysters.

I’m supposed to move to China at some point in the near-ish future. Besides finding random ways to improve myself and friends/relatives to pester, I’ve taken to filling my otherwise-useless time with creating things. I’ve turned to my trusty passion, cooking and baking, basking in the white side of me. Oh, how I love producing edible treats of mouthwatering delight. (Strangely, most of the time, my food experiments don’t marbelize into such.) I wish I had been able to cook more while I was in school. Now I definitely won’t be able to cook much or bake at all in China.

A list of things I have cooked or baked since I’ve been home:

• Spiced apple pie — as American as you can get!
• Feta chicken with angel hair pasta
• Bell pepper chicken with feta orzo
• Chicken cordon bleu with prosciutto and provolone
• Avgolemono, orzo and chicken soup
• Smoked gouda and edam macaroni and cheese with chard and salami
• Coconut cranberry muffins
• Tapioca pudding with coconut milk