This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads

I’m about to leave North America again for a long trip, likely only returning in the middle of next summer. This means that I’m in last minute errand mode – packing and unpacking and figuring out what I really need to bring with me, PDFing my passport and documents to myself and backing up my photos and hard drive. But I also find myself stocking up on the things I won’t get much of as I move around. 

In my case, that’s extra sharp cheddar cheese from Quebec, having a kitchen around to cook in and the smell of pine trees. So in these last few days I’ve been eating my body weight in cheese, cooking up a storm and wandering into the nearby parks to smell the conifers. I might look absolutely ridiculous, but I can’t leave with out my dose of delicious pine-y goodness.

Cooking coconut curry for my family in Montreal. 

In talking to others who travel, everyone has a specific set of things that stand out as wistful when they’re far from home. My friend Greg in Bangkok misses those Cadbury Easter Eggs with the creamy filling – we traipsed to every grocery store we could find and they were nowhere to be found. Bessie and Kyle wrote a poignant piece about how they missed the familiarity of knowing people who really knew them, and who had a shared history. 

What about you? When you travel what do you miss from home?