Looking back over the year, I sure have alot of things to be thankful for. #1: Deb and Marc for connecting me to my job which I am so happy about. No matter what I am doing at work, I know that I am helping students study abroad. Study abroad really did change my life; knowing I get to help students have the same amazing experience as I had – it’s an good feeling.
I also have my parents to thank – there is seriously no way I could have made it down here without their help. Last year was so crazy as it was and them helping me coordinate everything to come down here that made all difference in the world. Also, having my dad come down and help me get situated was also a huge help as I most certainly could not have done that alone. I’m very lucky.
Friends. I have always said that you know you have a true friend if you remain friends outside of the situation in which you met. Moving to Austin had certainly solidified my true friends and separated acquaintances and friends. Does this last sentence sound bitter? Well, I hope not because that’s not the intention – it’s just a common fact of life. Anyway, I have been so lucky to have a handful of friends who have most certainly put forth the effort to keep in contact, even though I moved thousands of miles away. (and thank you, this certainly means the world to me!) Of course I am loving Austin, my adventures and new acquaintances here; however, nothing replaces friends from home and I sure do appreciate them putting out the extra effort to maintain the friendships.
I remember the whole thought of moving to Austin didn’t really hit me until I was in the car on the way to PDX and thought to myself…this is the first time I am flying out of PDX…with a one way ticket. I don’t know when the next time is that I will see my car, house, driveway, Salem, I-5, Portland…at this point, the only plan is to head to Austin on a one way ticket. A city I had never visited prior to the move. Without housing or a car planned before arriving. Everything I own was either packed in a box or in the two suitcases I was bringing with me. Kinda a weird feeling…not good or bad…just a feeling I suppose.
The first week in Austin was kinda surreal too – apartment hunting and car searching in Texas. Texas?! WTF. How the heck did I end up here, when one week ago I was back in the comfort of Eugene, Oregon, probably staying up all night at the J. school with my friends, or maybe seeing my high school friends, many who went to UO with me. I didn’t know anyone at all in Austin which was kinda weird, but also a much appreciated experience. School / life got a bit too crazy last year and this is exactly what I needed to do. I’m thankful that Austin is such a compatible city for me as I really had no idea what to expect before coming here.
As I was saying, the first week of culture shock kinda set in – little things I don’t quite notice now because I guess I am getting used to it – but things like: reading the newspaper and not recognizing any of the political figures’ names or reading about various cities in Texas and having no idea where they were in relation to Austin, queso / pico / and Shiner (goodbye Portland beer), pumping my own gas (which now feels weird to go home and have someone else do for me…) breakfast tacos, the term “y’all”, fast drivers that nearly killed me, Southern hospitality, cowboy boots, sunny HOT weather 595 days of the year…
In December I was SOOO lucky to be able to go home for 2 weeks (another reason my company is so wonderful – they really do take care of us). It was sure a weird visit home though. I experienced this one before when I lived in Mexico – the reverse culture-shock. It’s weird to go back to a place where I grew up because A: everywhere I go, there’s a memory and a story. B: it’s weird to see people from high school and college as well…I feel like I have an entirely different life down in Austin that they know nothing about. They don’t know anything about my job, my car, my apartment, my friends, my favorite bars, what I do on the weekends, anything about my company or Texas culture…
It’s almost kinda like when you are in a group of people who are all friends and you are the new kid. As most of my friends have stuck around Oregon after graduation, they’ve been seeing each other and have been sharing these experiences over the last year but of course I have not been around. I’m certainly not trying to say I feel left out by any means; however, an observation I’ve had is this: Conversation is hugely based on storytelling and taking that even further, storytelling of shared experiences. I love hearing about what my friends back home are up to, but it’s just a little strange to know that I was once part of these experiences and now I’m just hearing about them. Weddings, weekends, new Salem news/gossip, jobs, parties, etc. – well I’m not a part of that anymore which is fine, but it certainly changes the dynamic.
On the same token, I have a bunch of crazy changes and experiences in my life – work, friends, experiences, culture, nightlife, etc. that I COULD share, but really is kinda hard to back home because there is no context for anyone back there to relate.
It’s also been a crazy time down here as I’ve had so many visitors over the past year. I like to consider this the year of revolving friends. Here’s a list of all the Oregon friends who’ve been down to Austin since I came down last June: Jordan, Cain, Jovana (twice), Mitchell (twice), Mary, Evan, Rachel, Issac, Christine Vo, Zach, Allison, Ryan Neighbors, Ricky, Lindsey, Katy Siegel, Scott, my parents (twice), Kristin, and Kyle. It’s been sooooo wonderful and refreshing to see all of these Oregon visitors – I’ve loved every second of it – but at the same time…it’s hard to have revolving friends…to have poeple come for a handful of days and then just take off again. Plus, like I said before, much conversation involves storytelling of past shared experiences – well, between all these people, I feel like I’ve relived a good chunk of my past (; Let’s see…everything going back to 2nd grade at Schirle, 4th of July, trips to New York together, DECA, PDX zoo adventures, Disneyland trips, J. school, state competitions, celebrity beer pong tournaments, Sprague H.S., middle school choir, COLAB, Portland, work at Old Navy, all-nighters…you name it and I probably re-lived a memory from one of these people.
At this point, if you are still reading…then wow, you get get a lolly-pop or a sticker or something speecial. But I have to bring this full circle to make the title of this post make sense. A few posts ago I talked about taking the road less traveled. I’ve been walking alot lately – the weather is so beautiful right now and it’s a wonderful way to clear my mind. Anyway, this week I’ve taken a different approach to my walk as I was starting to fall into a routine path…not cool when there’s so much to explore! So my strategy yesterday was to park somewhere new and just walk for 2 hours…if I got to an intersection, I’d go whichever direction the walk sign allowed me to walk first. So I ended up down on Riverside and got to the part where I could either walk down toward the lake or straight on Riverside. Usually I go straight on Riverside and then over to the little hill, but at the last second I made the decision to go down toward the lake. Usually I avoid that part as that is where the dog park is and I’m not a huge dog person…especially WET dogs, ew, but whatever, I chose to switch it up.
So, I’m walking down here and this girl stops me and asks if I will take a picture of her with the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue. I do and quickly realize she has a British accent. Of course it’s me, so anyone slightly different than the norm catches my attention – I ask her where she’s from – I find out she’s from London and on month 4 of a 9 month trek around the world – her next stops being Fiji and well…basically all over Asia, then finally back to Europe. We were heading in the same direction, so we ended up chatting along the way and let me tell you, I had the best conversation with this complete stranger. What would have happened if I would have followed my routine and gone straight on Riverside? Or if she would have asked any of the other million trail-walkers to take her pic? So crazy how life works out like that!
So this girl, Charlotte, and I walked and talked from the Stevie statue to Congress Street and let me tell you – it was just the conversation I needed to have. I am a huge believer in everything happening for a reason and to be honest, this was exactly the inspiration I needed. Thinking about vagabonds…this girl is the ultimate vagabond and free spirit which I have so much respect for. Hearing about her dream to travel the world since age 12 and making that dream a reality…so cool.
Her outlook on traveling around the world – alone for 9 months was a huge inspiration to me. I really admire people who don’t get stuck places…and have a desire / curiosity to actually live out dreams, being free-spirited and just exploring the world. It really is easy to A. get stuck in places, and B. feel alone in new places – she inspired me to not do either of these.
Thanks to modern technology / FB, we connected and will hopefully meet up sometime this week. I will never forget how the people I met during my journeys in Mexico totally took me in and showed me such undeserving hospitality – including me in their daily lives, friend circles and took the time to show me around their beautiful country. Since I’ve been back from Mexico, I’ve always tried to pass it forward and show the same hospitality and unexpected friendliness that made such an impact on my life.
So the girl and I went our separate way at the Congress Bridge. As I walked over the bridge, I most certainly passed a car with “111″ in the license plate numbers/letters. No joke. But really, I think it was perfect…and some sort of sign. Like I said before – everything happens for a reason. I don’t know why, but I can say I am feeling good about things, which at this point, is good enough for me. (=
