The Boonies

I made a new friend this week, a girl who lived in Virginia for a while as an adolescent. We hit it off right away, and as she described her old home, she used the term "The Boonies." I didn't realize just how much I missed America until I heard that phrase. It's the little familiar things that make me long for home. An American colloquial phrase heard on the street, my favorite cereal brand from home in the Indian corner market, or a song from the CD I bought before I left playing in the little Filipino salon across the street. Although American pop culture has invaded seemingly every corner of the world, and Dubai in particular, it's still not the same as home. It shouldn't be.