Home sweet home

Recent comparative studies indicate that assembling IKEA furniture is equally annoying and energy-consuming on both sides of the Atlantic. On the bright side, now that I have two pieces of furniture, I officially have a home here. Ok, so it coincided with an official statement to the US authorities that I have entered the country and settled on a residential address, but still. After having assembled a dresser (with the standard 17 extra pieces being left over) for nearly two solid hours, I'm calling it home. I guess you could say that the reality of waking up in California in the mornings is starting to set in. Without counting the new personal record I set for jet lag semi-coma, I've been here a little over a week now, and it's starting to get long enough for all the quirky details to start to feel a bit more familiar. Foggy weather, non-native palm trees, weird door knobs, delicious bagels, even more delicious and cheap Sushi, green groves mixed with concrete, homeless people begging next to Porsches, and martial arts dojos run like businesses. Home. Yesterday a latino dressed like he was about to step into a gangster rap video very politely asked me for a cigarette, and the thing that surprised me was that he smoked. Home. There are so many contrasts here that you can get dizzy just by watching the scenery. A little bit of everything seems to be designed to stick out. When talking about my efforts towards bettering my conversational English I was advised to try to keep my Swedish accent, as it was original. Home. I can see why some people consider California, and the Bay Area in particular, to be something of another planet. It's weird. I know I just got here, and haven't even started my work yet, but it actually does feel like home. A different home. A weird, alternative home, but a home. Home weird home. Home sweet home. At least for now. Oh yes, as I didn't feel like lugging a camera around to capture my day today, this post is illustrated by the instrument of my torture. Devised and manufactured by the big yellow and blue. Enjoy.