Wow. I’m in the US again, for the first time since March. It has been over a year since I left my job in Vermont, and almost a year to the day since I moved out of my apartment.

So how does it feel? Good. The first couple of days I kept having a physical feeling of vertigo: that the world was still spinning around me as I was trying to stay in one place. Now, over a week into my stay here, that has diminished and mostly I am thoroughly enjoying exploring the area with friends and not having to plan more than a day in advance. I know I have to book plane tickets for January (to see family on the East coast) and February (to attend a wedding in Guatemala), but I still can’t quite bring myself to search for flights. I’m not done traveling but that logistic piece of it is stressful for some reason. As Christmas approaches I’m getting more excited to see people that I love so I hope with that excitement the chore will be easier.

In the meantime I have been keeping myself very busy! Ellen picked me up from the airport and we both cried. I had been imagining San Francisco for months now but besides spending time being in one place I didn’t have much more of an agenda.

Our first stop was the grocery store and I experienced the shock of it all. Persimmons from Japan! Dragonfruit from Malaysia! Chocolate from Switzerland! Cheese from Vermont! I had been all of these places and IT WAS ALL HERE. Even the California beer that I reveled over in Thailand was on the shelf. The variety and excess was astonishing and I had zero decision making abilities. I met Jonathan and his roommate for dinner and we had Thai food. The next night we had Yemeni. The reminiscing has been a huge theme of the last week.

On one of my first days here I went for a long walk from Nob Hill all the way to Sausalito, which took about 4 hours. Pretty typical outing for me! I had some lovely random conversations in Golden Gate Park and saw seals and dolphins as I walked across the bridge. It felt new but also reminded me of Christmas here with my Dad and brother a few years ago. How different I am now, and how different it looks from my preferred perspective; on foot.

San Francisco hasn’t just offered me memories, but even further has brought people from Vermont to me. My dear friend Carrie Ann has been living in Baja Mexico for the last three years. We’ve been talking about meeting up for months but I never expected that two days after I got here she would be here too, in Santa Cruz, just an hour away. Ellen and I drove down to meet her for dinner. A few days later I got to meet up with more of my closest friends: Kelly and Scott who have always taken care of me when I needed anything, and literally opened their home to me.

Kelly and I had a fun day of botched public transport around the city, ended up walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, hopped on a tour bus down to Sausalito, and ended up at my family’s friend Susan’s houseboat. Ellen is taking care of it while Susan travels and I wanted to show off the beautiful dock to Kelly, who loved it! The next day they took me up to Muir Woods and out to lunch. I could have cried when we parted again. They symbolize home to me. But they, and Vermont, will always be there to greet me.

So I’ve also been exploring the coast here, trying to get a feel for it and wether this is a place I might want to end up for awhile. Jonathan and I went hiking last weekend up around Stinson Beach, north of the city. And this last weekend we went camping in Big Sur! Camping in December… Amazing! We woke up in the middle of the night with a perfect view of the full moon setting on the ocean.

And the sunsets here… We don’t get that on the East coast!

I expect I will start exploring a little further afield in the next couple weeks. Last minute road/bus trips stress me much less than planning a flight a month away. Don’t worry, the adventure will continue!

Thank you for those of you who kindly nagged me for an update! I miss you!!