Rediscovery

The last few days have been tiring, exciting, busy, and grey. Rediscovering the Seattle I so love has been interesting and sometimes shocking. Shocking is the amount of change...until I realize how long I've actually been gone. I forget that I haven't been in Seattle for over a year. I didn't remember that little fact until I ran into an old friend on the street and had a moment of "wow, I have absolutely no idea what's going on your life because I haven't seen you in, how long?" And even then, in that moment realizing I've been back in America for over two months! Time is rushing by much too quickly for me.

And then there's the streets I walked almost every day to and from classes, the neighborhoods and streets that have been the backdrop of time here, where now new condos, bars, restaurants, and construction sites have popped up. "Neighborhood staples" that suddenly I don't recognize the name of. But that's also a fun and exciting aspect of the rediscovery, especially now that I'm 21 and a whole new part of the neighborhood is open to me. Last night I got to take advantage of the happy hour wine special at our favorite French spot, Café Presse, while I reminisced and reconnected with a fellow Grenoble student. I'm excited to continue the friendships that started half-way across the planet.

The Space Needle...from afar

My search for employment continues (so if anyone out there has any connections, hook me up?), which means lots of walking. The resume dropping-off and schmoozing is punctuated by jaunts through adorable residential streets or a quick glance of the Puget sound perfectly framed between buildings.