But after having a choice of movies on the plane, and choosing to watch Eat Pray Love, I can't abide by the latter. While I'm happy she had no linear growth I was upset she got with Javier in the end. Nothing gave me any indication that it was a compelling relationship. Oh wait, it was a bad movie. I also watched the Swimsuit Issue (damn cute), and the Other Guys (which is quotable).
The last stint of my trip involved being stranded in Heathrow airport for twelve hours, then Frankfurt for fourteen, where I flew out a day late. When they made the announcement that there were no other flights to America, I spotted a flight to Chile. I started thinking, Antarctica.
Oh, returning to London I felt pleased, probably because I had a good time there - not much to read into. Landing at JFK I only realized that this place has no mystery to me. The city seems to me like clean-up after a large party (HRVHS HOME OF THE EAGLES!). You know people were there, but it's gotten comfortably quiet - the options are toil, or nap, and you might have one friend around to help.
Looking out of the cockpit, because I flew the plane, I saw a man on the tarmac. I immediately thought, that man speaks English (which probably isn't true). Links were formed and I suddenly saw this place as an English speaking colony. And that's how we present ourselves - as settlers. We should have had a war on our soil, because we have hasty throw-ups and never replace the buildings. That's the source of American stank. Not rustic enough to be classy - not sloppy enough to be third world.
Doing my final currency exchange to USD made me giddy. Not for what it precluded, but that it is the money I grew up with. I see it as real money. The green! The faces! I kept taking peeks at it in my pocket, hiding it from view - lest people get jealous. Although Switzerland wins for coolest foreign currency. Digitalized pictures and swooping colors - fitting for a nation that requires the least amount of decoration to be a setting for a sci-fi movie.
I thought that once I got back I would have some final thoughts, or a compulsion to speak my inner mind. In that spirit, I present you with a few things learned and done while abroad:
Three prose poems written. I won't copy them here, as they are on themes like snoring, and are borderline.
If I want to find people that get my sense of humor, I should look for Italians for the macabre and raunchy, British for the sarcasm, and middle-aged South American women for silliness - especially if they're wearing comfy shoes.
The Mona Lisa is small
The French really are dirty
German art is great, especially that it centers on reuse.
Most excited moments: Tower of London and finding an old Os Gemeos in Sevilla
Best ritzy vacation: Hamburg in the Summertime
Best scurvy vacation: Tangier
Place I felt most at home was Northern London, perhaps because it was so similar to parts of Oregon. Even the kids in the only theater in town made me think of growing up in Hood River.
Biggest regret: Not having a book
Greatest boon: Bringing 1000 q-tips
I have never felt more inhibited than when I was tipsy. I didn't enjoy it, and in the end would be more proud to carry on the family tradition of getting thrown out of a bar whilst being the designated driver.
The big life lesson I guess is that some things suck, and some don't, and that's okay.
I was happy to have Bob yell at me for not taking the job offer in the Lake District. He told me to go fuck myself and leave - that nothing was left for me here. That was endearing. It really was!
Here is a sequence of pictures from my last morning in Geneva:
Tonight I go out to dinner with three ladies, pull down my pants, and make gingerbread houses.
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