things i miss, things i see

Things I miss:
- My family, house, and my adorable Raja and Sheba.
- W&M SASA (William & Mary’s South Asian Student Association). Nothing takes me back to freshman year like “Bole Chudiyan.” Nothing takes me back to sophomore year like “Kajra Re.”
- Cusco. Nothing takes me back to South America like “Jiya Jale” (lol don’t ask).
- My hair cooperating.
- My SOMOS familia – I miss the seminar, gin buckets (especially when accompanied by a fine cinematic selection such as Talento de Barrio, featuring DY, everyone’s favorite wannabe tíguere), Lico’s FML stories, everyone else’s FML stories; I even miss reading dozens upon dozens of newbie applications and late, late-night meetings in J-town lounges.
- Iftaars (Eid Mubarak, everyone!).
- Mere didi.
- Thursday Murray lunches and Murray Eastern Shore weekend.
- Yoga. Ashtanga yoga.
- Late-night freestyle sessions with my brother from another mother.
- The Crim Dell.
- Juggling 20 credits and at least 6 different major extracurricular commitments.
- Being able to drink green tea whenever I want and not break into a sweat.
- Not Facebook.
- The Wren building.
- Organic food.
- Being able to call Celeste whenever I want.
- Swimming.
- Beliranza! Judge away; I don’t care.
- My Hayao Miyazaki movies, my Bollywood movies, and strange French and Italian movies (but I brought Casablanca here, obviously. That’s the one movie I simply cannot live without).
- My piano; playing Brahms, Mozart, and Chopin.

Things I see:
Below are, respectively, the inside courtyard of my apartment complex and the barrio of Capotillo, where I went on Friday with my roommate. It reminded me of movies I've seen depicting the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.