Each day is flying by. It is funny how I left everything behind that I associated with home... everything I knew about life.... and now..... this is my life. The here and now, the ups and downs. It is so different, yet the same. Everyday seems normal... but in some sort of weird wonderful fantasy island sort of way.
I still get tired and hungry and irritable. I still laugh a lot, get excited really easily, and seek adventure. I still hate conflict, am afraid of being vulnerable. I am just doing it from miles and miles away.
Being able to feel like family with a set of total strangers is something that I never expected but has turned out to be a wonderful surprise. I don't even know the meaning of the word privacy anymore, but for some reason it's okay. Everyone is so respectful.... so sharing, giving, generous, friendly, and best of all funny. It is so not what I'm used to... being a somewhat unsocial individual. But the people are so different. Everyone is so laid back, I guess you'd have to be. Right now I am staying in an actual apartment that a guy from Australia, Adrian, decided to put bunk beds in and start renting out. It is amazingly homey. There are only about 10 of us plus Adrian's girlfriend. There is a chef from Canada here named Derek, and the other night, him and Adrian cooked up a world class meal of pasta with different sauces. There was wine, great food, excellent dessert, wonderful conversation, lots of laughs. We are a strange family that came together a few days ago and that will dissipate in a few days. We may not even keep in touch with each other. But the immediate bonds, the protection, the respect, the safety and support are all there.
This will make it extremely difficult to reintegrate myself into normal city life in the States. Impersonal and difficult. Stressed. BUT, I'm not going to worry about that right now.