The Urge to Go

There's no denying that fall is here. Even though most of the trees seem to be skipping the changing color phase, there's no doubt it's fall. The sun's not as strong. The wind is brisk. The hours of daylight just keep shrinking. And it's all got me feeling quite restless. I feel like I need to go somewhere or do something. I need to move, travel to a new country, go back to school--anything that will keep me from the stagnation of winter.

I think part of my feeling of restlessness has to do with the fact that I've now moved into my second year of being in the same place. It's been a while, since freshman-sophomore year of college to be exact. Then it was Germany for one year, Houston for one year, Athens for one year, DC for one...now two...and who knows who many more years (but better not be more than another 2 or so). I'm also in a job that is permanent - not permanent as in a lifetime career - but permanent in the sense that it's unlike my other jobs which had end dates decided on before the start date approached. And I'm married. My life suddenly seems very permanent. It's very strange after having had such a nomadic existence for the past few years.

And it's not as if I haven't gone places this year - we've been to Hawaii and Belize. I've been up to NYC and Philadelphia. I've been out to California and up to Seattle. But I haven't lived anywhere else. I haven't had the challenge of figuring out how to get groceries or practiced asking for a bus ticket multiple times so that I don't mess up the language. I've always just been a visitor. And what I want to do is go explore, go live new cultures, go get lost, and then find somewhere really cool. I just want to move around and see the world before I'm too old or have too many responsibilities or am too materialistic to take a job that pays only $650 a month but offers fantastic opportunities.

But I'm going to have to learn patience, since we're here until Jeff is done with his PhD. So in the mean time, I need suggestions on how to keep myself occupied. Maybe taking some classes will help. Maybe learning a new language. I don't know, but if you have ideas, please send them my way. I need something to get me through the winter. Once the weather warms up, I'll probably be happier just to do nothing and enjoy it. But for now the restlessness has kicked in. And it doesn't help that Jeff's in Sweden either. I'm jealous. I know he's working hard, but it's another country, which in my book makes it automatically a million times better.