Six years ago I visited San Francisco for the first time. Six years ago, almost exactly. I remember it vividly, the drive back to Marin from Oakland airport and the traffic we hit, I even remember the smell of the air after leaving the airport. I remember these things because it was the first time I was visiting Alex. We weren’t dating at the time, those months felt so tumultuous, I was twenty and falling hard for this guy, whom I had liked since the day I met him 18 months prior. Everything during that time felt particularly heightened and raw, and I remember it in surprising detail. Much like this year, we had spent the winter months waiting for the sun to make an appearance and help us forget the long, dark days of a rainy climate, then, the Pacific Northwest. California represented sunshine, and a chance to spend time with someone special. And so, from the moment I stepped off the plane, San Francisco etched itself a permanent place in composition of my life. And there it would remain, six years later; I am always giddy to return. When I visit New York, and see that skyline for the first time in months, I feel a great surge of excitement, New York is a place I associate with a time of constant flux, or fast movement, of discovery. But not San Francisco, no matter how many times I catch the glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge, I never feel that surge of energy, instead I feel a deep sense of calm. Continue reading
Author Archives: Jessica
Life in Ireland: 7 Months Later.
There’s something happening outside of my window this morning. As usual, there’s a brisk chill, light clouds streak across the horizon threatening to encompass the sky and bring with them the usual daily rain. But for now, there seems to be warmth. It is an illusion of course. It’s near freezing, despite being almost April. But the sun illuminates the stark, leaf-less trees and reminds me what natural light is like. It’s fleeting, to be sure. In a few hours, it will be dark again, from the rain and clouds. So I sit in my living room with a hot cup of coffee, bask in the warmth of the sun streaming through my window and soak it in before it leaves. This gift of light makes me irrationally happy. Continue reading
St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin: A Bird’s Eye View
I didn’t know how big of a deal St. Patrick’s day was in the United States before moving to Dublin. Perhaps I was generally aware, or it’s not as celebrated on the west coast, or I was spending last year’s prepping to fly to Nepal to begin my summer in Asia and was more concerned about not forgetting something to notice the day. In any case, I vaguely knew that people in the US regard this holiday with quite a bit of enthusiasm and dedication. Or what’s more, that spending the day in Dublin is on many bucket lists. So, I was curious what it would be like here. I had heard stories of absurd debauchery and was mildly concerned about dealing with a city full of drunken tourists-I had also heard most Irish people stay locked in or flee the city. Regardless, it would be interesting. Continue reading
Rome: Just for Tourists?
The three of us sat in the back of a defunct army jeep abandoned near one of our favorite bars. My good friend, and fellow volunteer had met, as we would later call him “the Italian” a few nights prior. As we sipped Serengeti beer in the warmth of an East African evening, we asked him, in broken spanish mixed with english about his life. Later, as a whirlwind romance would develop between them they would spend evenings on his porch speaking in the same, strange mix of languages that allowed them to communicate. She was young, and enamored. He said he was from Rome. We gushed our love for Italy, though neither of us had visited, but dearly wanted to. He scoffed, and told us, “go to Italy, do not go to Rome-it is for tourists. You won’t like it.” But, what about all the history? The Colosseum, the Vatican? Surely, the food must be fabulous! We tried to pry one positive feeling about Rome, a city we had both very much wanted to see. He shrugged and changed the topic, his distaste for his home city clear in his demeanor.
Colliding With The Earth 