amongst the papers

I lived in the US for four years.  You would think that I would remember something as important as my social security number.
But when my university application asked for it, I drew a blank. It stopped the process and I had to find one of the many suitcases in my aunt's attic and leaf through random documents from lives past in order to find it.
I found it, though.
Which made me think of when I got it in Colorado, something like ten years ago.  I remember thinking, "Now I will be in the system permanently.  I am a number."
They may be remembering me soon, if this application process gets me anywhere...but now I have begun remembering them--that large, diverse and vibrant collective called the American system.

grand tour

Where does the time go?! I think that in the recent days, it has neatly disappeared into our mileage meter as we have navigated the freeways of the South. We drove through five states during our ten day stay there. I already mentioned we were in Georgia, but here are some moments from the others:

NC
I tasted some of the best coffee I have had at the Crooked Door Coffee House in a small town called Marion. I forget the name of the process for this coffee, but it involves making a coffee concentrate by pouring a gallon of water through a pound of ground coffee and allowing it to soak for ten to twelve hours. The result is a soft chocolaty flavored liquid best served iced! After trying a tiny blue cupful of it, the regular coffee flavor tasted second rate. Apart from the friendly huge windows overlooking Main St., the wi-fi connection, the fireplace room with tall green velvet armchairs, the hardwood floors, the friendly barista and the redbrick walls, it also had an attached art gallery that made me wish I lived in a house with plenty of empty wall space.

VA
"If you could have anything for dessert, what would it be?" Uncle Gary asked first my sister, then me. We both answered promptly, "Flan!" But realizing such a wish was probably a bit unrealistic for the afternoon barbecue moment, we also added that chocolate would also be good. But some wishes just come true, and our taste buds were happily surprised by delicious caramelized flan! (My favorite!!) It was a small moment, but it captures in my mind the essence of the friendship, hospitality and surprise element that was part of our time in Virginia. A lazy day on the lake, a movie, cute dogs, a surprise birthday party for my dad, reconnecting with friends we hadn't seen in years....aaaah!

SC
Panera: not only your neighborhood soup and sandwich hangout where you can meet Spanish-German men with tropical-sea-colored eyes planning to sail in the South Pacific for six years, but it is also the tasty intersection for friends who knew each other way back when Alosta Place at APU was called home. In this case, it was Abbey from California, and her beautiful children. It is the people, you know, that make travel worth its while. And their smiling faces certainly made the stop in Anderson worth its while!

AL
The Toomers' home has a backyard view toward a jungle much like the one in our beloved Shell, although the foliage is somewhat tamer since Auburn is not quite the Amazon. I think the fact that it was raining only made the comparison more appropriate. I love surprises. So does my family. So we successfully surprised Aunt Trish by showing up at her coffee shop in the university town of Auburn where we enjoyed catching up and tasting some good southern barbecue!

Our road tripping continued upon our return to California, but now we are helping my sister pack her five years worth of belongings in too few suitcases. Condensing drawer-fulls of books, photos, cards, memories, backpacks, shoes and clothes into a space that fits within the airline allowances is no small task! My parents leave tomorrow. Perhaps they will need another vacation to recover from this vacation! I know I could probably sleep for a week straight through. But how else would we have gotten to see all the incredible people and places that we have!?

moving

I used to move on a yearly basis when I went to college in the US. It was a handy way of keeping all the amounts of clutter in check. Regardless of my intents, I still left the US with four suitcases instead of the two I arrived with way back in 2001. My last college roommate in California studied Chinese, and her term for all the "stuff" was dongxi. I thought of that word as I moved a few days ago, piling my boxes of books, my suitcases of winter clothes and bags of odds and ends into a car, contemplating the need for a dongxi diet! I suppose that on the grand scale of things, it is still not a lot of stuff, since it doesn't even fill an eighth of the storage shed where I left it for the duration of my travels, but it still made me wonder how much of it all I actually need. Really, not much.

But I am on the move again, having finished the packing and errands of the crazy last days in Helsinki and having left that part of world for a month and a half. As I write this, I am at my friend Crystal's house in Michigan, with another high school friend across the dining table from me writing letters to the world on her laptop. My coffee cup is empty, the sun shines brightly outside and a tree in the corner of the back yard is waiting for our limbs to scamper onto it and perch in its branches. I am excited for all that the coming month will contain! Dear faces and places, memories that are both pleasant and sad, perhaps a meeting with my past self that will result in greater awareness and growth.

In terms of some first impressions, I had forgotten the views of suburbia and strip malls with stores like Kroger's and Wal-Mart and Starbucks. One of my first whiffs was of fabric softener from clothes out of a dryer, which might not seem so remarkable, but in Finland we usually line-dry clothing. I haven't missed much in terms of food, but now that I think about it, I would really like some chocolate chip cookie dough! I am back in a world where we drive conveniently around everywhere in a car (public transportation like buses is not available here) and the homes have whole-floor carpets and air-conditioning that requires the use of a sweater inside the house. And one thing I find extremely favorable is the exchange rate of the dollar and euro! But in spite of my great buying power, just remind me along the way that I don't need to buy more dongxi to take back home! :)