Fall

It's just barely fall. The mornings are cold, the afternoons warm, and in the evenings when I come home, the neighborhood boys are playing football in the street. I am living average American days. I ride the Metro to work from my cool urban neighborhood, contribute to the well being of a million low income pre-schoolers for nine hours, visit with friends in DC's hot spots, and ride the metro home. I'm exhausted, but happy.

One part of me loves this- I could do this forever. Another part feels the lull of complacency, and misses the daily ethical conflicts, sensory overload, and inherent difficulty in every errand that makes me feel so awake when living abroad. My days now have plenty of challenge - struggles with making good use of technology, navigating office politics, and determining compliance of our grantees - but its all so intellectual, and fails to engage me viscerally and physically, a failure which bugs me if I bother to let it.

I've committed to two years of this experiment. The Experiment of the American Experience. The "commitment" has wiggle room, but for now, I'm going to see how this whole yuppie thing plays out, and if I end up bugged or happy.