Hi from downtown Silver Spring

... where I'm sitting on the ground by a random office building stealing some random company/person's wireless, and losing feeling in various parts of my body. But at least the weather is great. I feel like a homeless person, except I don't know of too many homeless people who sit around on an iBook. Anyway, I am here because I'm meeting up with a couple friends soon. Then I'm going to Kemp Mill to meet up with another friend and I'll go with her on a tour of Kemp Mill to see various friends including two who have a newborn baby. Aw. Can't wait. And then... going to College Park! I'm throwing myself a party there. How else am I going to see everyone is such a short period of time? I'm excited.

This morning I said bye to my sister, met two friends in Dupont Circle for doughnuts, then met one of my best childhood friends for an early lunch. She told me that she accidentally mentioned my blog to my mom once so... Hi Ema, are you reading this? Just curious.

She also told me which entry is one of her favorites, and I just reread it while waiting here ("I am Here," May 2008) and got all teary eyed. It was an interesting experience reflecting on it from here in the US.

I was just starting to actually miss Israel. I considered this a huge accomplishment. I was even starting to look forward to going back. Then I came down to DC and realized how many people I wanted to see in such a short amount of time, and how much it sucks that I'm practically allotting thirty minute slots for each of my friends (and some have to double up). Not nearly enough time to catch up, share my adventures, and hear about theirs as well. I am generally flexible, and willing to shlep all over, but there are sleeping schedules and work schedules and homework and, most importantly, of course, accommodating my friend who goes to a bar to watch the football game. I wish there were hours in a day. I wish there wasn't an ocean between me and everyone else I know. If only the East Coast of the US was 5500 miles closer... and hey, that would put Chicago and LA where other friends live not that far away as well.

Tomorrow I will hopefully see Lisa in Boston, and the following week I will see Alissa is Boston, and before I know it I will be back in Jerusalem curled up with Harriet the Spy. I will start thinking about when my next trip to the US will be. It will probably be shorter and I'll once again feel stressed about drifting away from everything and everybody. Seeing this friend at lunch today was almost a relief, as I will get to see her again briefly over Rosh Hashanah.

I decided it's possible to question one's decisions without it leading towards regret. I still never regret my decision to make aliyah. I look forward to returning, starting graduate school, and being reunited with my friends there. I'm still leaving bits of myself in different places... Boston, Philadelphia, College Park... everywhere that's important to me. I'll be visiting College Park long after everyone I know there has graduated.

I don't expect to write anything until after I get back, so I wish each and everyone of you... in Israel and all over the US, or the total strangers who come across my blog, and Healthy and Happy New Year full of new and successful beginnings, choices, and just simple day to day victories.

Teaching Gino and Ken how to cook kosher chicken on an Amtrak train

This morning I left my host's apartment in San Francisco and held my breath while walking down the street because it smelled like urine. Did I mention that last night I was offered drugs? At least a woman asked me if I "wanted any" and while "any" can mean lots of different things I'm going to guess from the other activity on the street that she was trying to sell me drugs.

Michael gave me a ride to San Jose for my ten hour train ride to Los Angeles. Every inch of the trip was beautiful. It's amazing how many people live in the middle of nowhere. Then suddenly we'd come to a place with like a hundred houses and there would be a train stop. The first half of the trip was all brown and green and the second half was along the gorgeous Pacific Ocean. It was fun being waved to by people on the beach.

The craziest part of this trip was my kosher food. I was really excited to get meals on the train because I hadn't eaten any real food for like forty eight hours. Besides the not-so-convenient availability of food and being slightly jetlagged in that my body didn't know when it needed food, I had been surviving on junk food and ice cream for two days. The banana split at Ghirardelli's had fruit-- that counts for something, right? Suddenly my body was like "hey, I need protein."

First I spoke to Ken. He was in charge of food arrangements. He told me that Gino, the guy who worked in my car, could bring the meal straight to my seat. Gino said he had to talk to Ken. Together they discovered that my food was being loaded onto the train at Santa Barbara, another hour away. This was after several hours of waiting and extreme hunger. Finally we arrived in Santa Barbara. Ken and Gino came to my seat with nervous smiles on their faces. Apparently the food that was delivered was raw kosher chicken. Great. So I carefully explained to Ken that my chicken could be double-wrapped and heated in the oven. They were so apologetic and didn't even charge me for the meal. It was cute because they also double wrapped the bowl of salad they brought me. Finally around 7 I got dinner. Mmmm protein. A random homeless lady at Union Station in LA got the rest of the chicken. Beats the drugs which seemed to make up most of what she was consuming.

Now I'm at my friend's house in LA. I hadn't seen her in like five years, so it's pretty awesome. Any suggestions of what to do tomorrow?