At last…

Yes, at last, after almost a year and a half I set foot on not only American soil but inhaled the sweet air of my golden state. Apparently the poetic patriotism of my Brazilian buddies may be rubbing off on me, regardless it was great to be home. I have always always insisted that home, for me, is determined by who I’m with rather than where I’m at – not necessarily profound, but absolutely true. So with that, home started in LA, got to see Big Brother’s loft in the Art’s district – über cool. (He always does his best to salvage my disdain for that growing swath of cement, being that he knows me rather well, he has made great progress in rounding out my basic opinion – which I must admit, in all honesty I’m not much for big cities, so it’s a hard sell.) We, along with mums and jb, celebrated his birthday by ta

king advantage of one of the greatest strengths of said region, culturally diverse cuisine (with the added benefit of US quality ingredients) – Ethiopian, Yum. Of course mums and I managed to squeeze in wonderfully relaxing facials (perfect after my flights) and a little time at a classic cultural necessity – The Grove, a bona-fide SoCal mall, and though in the past just the word “mall” was slightly repulsive, I will not argue, I found it alarmingly lovely, basking it the wonder of fulfilled expectations. Slightly chilly evening air, appetizing smells of dinners being prepared at a variety of restaurants, people roaming about, the Christmas tree being set up in the center pavilion, all of which is novel to the me that is currently living in West Africa.

The next morning I tried on my brides maid’s dress, which being strapless and the wedding being the next day.. promptly fell..off. Sooo, luckily mums is a gifted seamstress, lest I’m afraid the story of Sis’s beautiful wedding might have gone a bit differently..

As we zipped up I-5 I soaked in the gorgeous sunny California day. It was a tightly scheduled wiz bang weekend. The wedding went off without a glitch and voila Heather is now officially hitched.

With my newly reformed bridesmaid’s dress/compression gown I managed to make it back down the isle, aerating the lawn with cute though impossible heels, channeling new found strength at the sight of the Mariachi band striking up. A number of items on my “must” list were conveniently checked off when Mexican food was served up for dinner. At last – that is the Mexican food I’m talking about when I’m whining about not having Mexican. It was beautiful; cool fall air, autumn leaves, trees strung with lights glittering across the yard, dancing, music, and a hefty dose of love. Congratulations Mr and Mrs :)

The next day the boys and I proceeded up 99 to Fresno, hit Costco and Whole Foods on our way home. (Yes, I did almost tear up in the frozen food section of Costco, as I was walking around, arms filled with as much as I could possible hold, looking for the boys, an old man with a twinkle in his eye did mention that they have carts… I am confident my face had the same glow they are referencing when they speak of a kid in a candy shop – I had been asked about reverse cultural shock a few times at the wedding, but I didn’t have time for that – 2 days of flying, 8 hour time change and never staying in the same place for over a day, well, I was just enjoying the ride.) That evening I banished my exhaustion and enjoyed a wonderful time with friends, much missed and time far too short, but so well spent.

The next day I attacked the shopping list while jb ensured that I checked off as many items on my ‘foods I miss’ list – sharing absolutely required for successfully enjoying berries/granola/yogurt; Starbucks; California sushi; Costco dog (don’t judge); spinach/artichoke dip; corn chowder; onion soup; walnut/cranberry/blue cheese chopped salad – it was a full day. Both my bags were packed to the max. Two extra boxes to be shipped.

I returned back to C d’I, full of yummy food, caught up on just about every film that Air France had to offer and high on family and friends. A good trip.