God tur!

Over the past few weeks, it's occurred to me on several occasions that I'm getting very comfortable here. There was a day, for instance, when I was riding the trikk, and it started pouring outside. So much, in fact, that I had to wait for several minutes under the awning at my stop before crossing the street to the t-bane station; meanwhile, the street filled up with rain, and I got to stand there and watch lots of grown people turn into little kids hopping over puddles. Then a couple of nights ago, I went for pizza with Simon, and it was pretty decent pizza, and we had a nice chat, and on the way home I felt very good about life. Of course, there are still awkward moments. If you've never experienced how pricey it is to send a package from Norway to the US, I hope you shall be spared in the future, for one thing. And for another, I hope no 70 year old men with tobacco breath give you their phone numbers and tell you that if you go out for dinner or a movie you will get "a nice surprise" (Oh, how I hope that innuendo was a matter of mistranslation...)

Nevertheless, I continue to miss home quite a bit more than I ever missed whatever this idea of "home" is when I lived in Chicago. I've also found in myself a deep appreciation for things that strike me as really American, diner food, for instance, and Johnny Cash. That said, I made myself a mix that reflects my current touch of melancholy accompanied by a bright ray of hope for the future--both my anticipated enjoyment of the adventuring life, and what a joy it will be to come home to people who have definitely grown fonder with absence. I'm not the master mix-maker that some of my friends are, but here's my humble attempt.

"Desperado" Johnny Cash
"Up from Under" The Wallflowers (what's more American than Jakob Dylan's pretty face?)
"We are Nowhere and it's New" Bright Eyes
"Let's Get Lost" Elliott Smith
"Unravel" Bjork
"Come Crash" A. C. Newman
"If She Wants Me" Belle and Sebastian
"Honk if You're Lonely" Silver Jews
"Via Chicago" Wilco
"Your Love is the Place Where I Come From" Teenage Fanclub

PS I had a fun moment last weekend when one of the two gorgeous Czech girls I know from my Norwegian class (Have I not written about them yet? Wow, I'm surprised, because I won't shut up about them...) came over for a little party, and I found out she likes Queen. I mean, who doesn't like Queen, but still, it was a nice moment.