At times being home in my small town in Vermont is a bit overwhelming.  Unlike China, I can’t hide behind my ignorance of the native language or disappear in a huge urban metropolis.  I see friends and people I know constantly, and find myself at work and social events with the same people…wondering ‘are they sick of seeing me’?  And the demands on my time in every facet of my life are far greater.

But it’s also underwhelming to sometimes be home.  I’m reading Peter Hessler’s Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China’s Past and Present.  In Chapter One, he discusses how because of his dumpy apartment and the energy on the streets of China, he had to leave his apartment.  I sometime long for that urban energy…Guangzhou, Bangkok, Hong Kong, New York.

So I’m either overwhelmed by the genuine community of small town New England, or underwhelmed by the lack of adventure and amenities of big city life…that is except when I’m not (which is most of the time).  The last 24 hours have been perfect.  Impromptu dinner party with all our neighbors, board games with partner, a little football on TV, some light reading, cool evening perfect for sleeping, waking up to breezy and sunny beautiful early fall day, yard work, lunch with family, and tonight out to nice dinner.

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