I am willing to bet that "Home" is in the subject line of more blog posts than any other word.
I've made some good friends here in the short time that I've been here. I'll point out that this is kind of unusual. In moves previously, I think it's taken longer to make some good friends. Keep in mind, that as of today, I have been here 8 weeks, and will be departing in 10 months.
I'll give the full lead up to this...
I met CD for brunch today. He is in his early 20s. It wasn't just he and I though. All day long, when talking or walking in the park or hanging out, I had the notion that my 23 year old self was there with us. (Or maybe it was the hallucinogenic mushrooms I had in my omelet-kidding). I kept thinking of who I was at 23, and what I was doing with my life. That was 10 years ago. I could picture myself walking around the park with EW, sitting on the swings in the great Denver sun and drinking iced coffee. About to graduate college, having been rejected to medical school (ps-thanks CU, that rejection was one of the best things that has happened), in a job that I had grown tired of, going out clubbing regularly. It was just bizarre. I thought about my friends who were 10 years older than me at that time, and realized, that I have become them.
Anyway, after CD and I departed, I called S (the other S is out of town) because it was such a beautiful day that I needed to have beer outside and people watch. So S met me and we were chatting, catching up (because we hadn't talked in 36 hours). I was telling him about my daytrip Saturday to Maropang. He said something about getting out and seeing things, and I mentioned that I only have 10 months left here in SA! And he gave me a jab, saying that I'd never come to visit once I leave.
But I will visit. This is my home right now. I'm not here visiting. Denver has been home. Dublin has been home. Massachusetts has been home. And now here is home. The friends and experiences thus far are way to meaningful to not feel some kind of permanent tie to this area.
What's also been spurring this on is that fact that I'll be home-less in December. For a day or so I contemplated taking December off from Bara, and doing something. In fact, I thought about this enough to plan many trips in my head. India. China. Northern Africa. Australia. I feel a bit guilty travelling somewhere that wouldn't include a chance to visit friends. Also, I don't know if I want to give up summer to head into winter and end up somewhere cold (I'm mailing or giving away warm clothes when summer is over here). But, I thought that maybe what I should do is take a month to go back home. Fly to Dublin, spend a week there. Fly to Denver, spend 2 weeks there. Fly to Massachusetts, spend a week there. I felt like I would be cheating if I visited one home and didn't see the others as well. I couldn't fly to Denver and not pop over to Massachusetts for a few days, and vice versa.
There was the guilt that I'd also be cheating myself out of my last month of pediatrics, and thus have decided that I will find a new home here in SA in December and complete my 6 months of pediatrics...
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