Saudades

Saudade is my favorite word in Portuguese, and one of the first I ever learned. It has no direct English translation, but it's a feeling we've all had at some point or another..."a nostalgic feeling connected to the memory of someone or something absent" (my translation of the Portuguese definition). You feel saudade for home, for family, for loved ones who are far away, for something as silly as a bar you used to go to in college or a kind of food you had on vacation and can't get where you live. It's less the feeling of missing, and more the feeling you get from the thought of that someone or something that is far away or absent.