Happiness is a Solid: Being Away From Home: II

The past few days have given me my first pangs of sadness/missing Seward: consequences of being away from home. I'll start by saying that Corinne continues to be a wonderful host - showing me the city and her new friends in it. She and I have enjoyed walks, dinners, visits to her school, and a few comfortable evenings at home with Firefly. I've also felt at home with her friends Nelson, Kyle, Alicia, Hanna (who is Swedish!), and have been in touch with a few folks from home, who continue to be a click away, even at thousands of miles. But, especially considering the family gathering to commemorate my grandmother, a little homesickness is bound to happen. Here are a few examples of me being hosted extremely well:

Typical party scene - at the boat

Corinne and I both have been very well hosted - from left Hanna, Kyle, Nelson, Corinne

Anti-homesickness medicine

The walks themselves have allowed me a pedestrian view of the city - both in and outside of the city's heartbeat. The other day I attempted to visit the US Embassy, hoping to see the inside, Jason Bourne style, as well as use the Toalet. No such luck - even after pulling on the locked door like a trained monkey, or when I flashed my passport to the guy behind the glass. I had it in my head that I could run through the gate, waving my passport, to escape whatever interpol / mafia / international spies were chasing me. Not so. This was a secured location - against me and everyone like me. I spoke with an officer through thick glass and was recommended to a few websites and sent on my way. Oh well.

This was like embassy row - Japan was just beyond the US here

Just in case the concrete barriers don't foil evil doers

While many shops have their doors propped open even when the temp dips to 35 degrees, I have yet to crack the surface of the city. However I've noticed that after a few days in a new place - it feels dramatically more comfortable, and could easily BECOME home, given the opportunity. I think what catches me and leaves me on the outside of the window emotionally is the feeling that I will be leaving here shortly (even if it a relatively long time - 3 weeks!), and fail to connect with people the way I might in Seward where I am comfortable around strangers with no sense of ever seeing them again. I continue to see the city as an outsider, even though I am picking up Swedish phrases and could direct someone to train stops all over town. The comfort of the neighborhood, as Nick Carraway called it, certainly feels like a choice, if one I've not yet made.