Everything is Connected

I left Seattle to go to Peace Corps Panama on May 12, 2007. I returned two evenings ago on November 21, 2009 for the first time in two years, six months, and 9 days. I still consider it one of my homes.

I was so excited on the plane ride on the approach. We were flying over Seattle and I began to think, "I'm almost there. I'm almost there." I still have many friends here and I was going to try to meet up with all of them...but fate, the cosmos, or what-have-you, have placed me in a technological hole. I forgot my cell phone at my friend's apartment in Chicago and my MacBook does not pick up internet in either house in which I am staying. Three and a half months in the United States has already accustomed me to technological "connectedness" but this week will be spent TRULY connecting with those around me.

My friend Khayah stokes the fire in her fireplace as I write this. Her house is filled with light, spices, and teas. I am also here to reconnect with my old friends from EarthCorps, an environmental nonprofit I worked with in 2004. My roommates from that time are all (save one) returning to Seattle and to have Thanksgiving dinner together. The phone and internet are not such a loss because most of the time will be spent face-to-face with friends.

Yesterday, I went snowshoeing with Dennis, his roommate, and two other friends of Dennis'. It turns out that the one he knew least well grew up near to where I currently attend graduate school. (Small town, Western Illinois.) How wonderful that I got to see snow for the first time in three years! The hemlock and fir trees were all covered with snow. We had multiple snowball fights and I got to smell and taste winter again.

In the evening, I ate dinner at Dennis' house. He had invited a friend and her boyfriend over. We spoke of natural healing and travel. I got to share my Peace Corps experience with all of them, including photos. Only after they left, Dennis told me a secret. The wonderfully conversational boyfriend with the excellent eye contact was none other than the lead singer from the band The United States of America. I was embarrassed that I had met him wearing sweatpants but glad that I got to know him as a real person rather than a celebrity.

Today I rode the bus from Dennis' house to Khayah's house...luckily just one bus from there to here. It got crowded and I began to think of the complaining coeds on college buses when it is only half that crowded and my work in rural transportation in Illinois. Someone was listening to Van Halen's song "Panama" on their headphones very loudly, and I smiled at the interconnectedness of my life.