Riley: The Good Old Days

It was the last place I expected to find solace while I was living in Auckland. But as the waitress approached our table smiling politely and placed the laminated menus before us, I felt relief. American-style streaky bacon, pancakes, filter coffee…

Denny’s had never looked so delicious.

When I decided to study abroad, I knew there were some elements of my life in the States that I was bound to miss: My family, my sister’s floppy-eared pit bull mix named Stella, my friends both at home in Tennessee and at school in Boston.

But in the month following my arrival in New Zealand, I’ve found that the things from home I long for are not what I expected to miss.

For one, I miss access to adequate public transportation — Auckland is a bit limited in this respect. Yes, I miss the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. I miss my Charlie Card and the Green Line. I miss the way it seems as if I’m peering into some other universe when I look into the next trolley car as the T screeches around that sharp curve near the Boylston stop.

I miss seeing the color of the sky at sunset behind Fenway Park from the fantastic view of my former South Campus apartment. I even miss hearing the hooligans hootin’ and hollerin’ outside of the bar across the street until 2 a.m.

I miss the pulled pork nachos at Sunset Cantina and the laughs I shared with so many friends while splitting an extra-large plate. I miss 24-hour access to Cape Cod Potato Chips and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream at Shaw’s.

I miss seeing the best of the best American commercials during major primetime televised events like the Grammys and the Super Bowl.

I miss Mugar Library and its 2 a.m. closing hours and the full spread turkey dinner always available at Cranberry Farms in the George Sherman Union food court. I miss being accosted by members of every student group, advertising their philanthropies and performances, when I would walk through the GSU Link.

I miss seeing at least one person I know everywhere I venture on campus, whether it’s Starbucks or 100 Bay State Road (although I do not miss the human traffic jams on Commonwealth Avenue during rush hour).

I miss walking on the esplanade bundled in my wool scarf, leather boots and down jacket with the crisp breeze nipping at my pink nose. And while I think that five snow days is a little excessive, I do miss the way the snow glitters, untouched, when it first falls and the warm feeling of snuggling up with a bowl of popcorn and a few friends when classes are canceled.

And while I am happy to say that I am no longer questioning the results of BuzzFeed quizzes on a daily basis, I admittedly miss constant Wi-Fi and ending every day with an episode from a favorite series on Netflix.

When I encounter these feelings of homesickness, I remind myself of a poignant quotation from one favorite comedies, “The Office.” During the show’s finale as the cast recalls the events of the mockumentary’s nine seasons, Andy Bernard remarks, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”

Like many people, I have spent so much of my time at home and abroad worrying: about what I did or neglected to do yesterday, about the plans I do or don’t have today, about what I can foresee of tomorrow. The past always seems better, the future always brighter, the grass always greener opposite from where I’m standing.

I really don’t know when the “good old days” Andy was talking about were. Were they my childhood? My freshman year of college? The semester before I departed for New Zealand? Or — the scariest thought of all — are they happening right now?

Unfortunately for Andy and I, there is no way of knowing. What I had yesterday, I miss today. And what I have today, I will miss tomorrow. But I will hold Andy’s words close to my heart, because they are a constant reminder that I must enjoy the present.

For me, two months ago, the present was a small but lively city tucked away on the New England coast filled with other university students and friends whom I miss dearly. And now, the present is a beautiful sprawling island nation occupied by people from all over the world and donned with every environmental wonder imaginable, from golden beaches to ice-capped mountains.

I think I can live with that.