While it still holds true that on a general level, the US is not home anymore, there were a couple instances this week where I felt part of a community. DC is a bit of a bubble In that it’s an extremely international city. As a result, most people are from somewhere else. There are very few DC natives. I happen to be one as do several of my friends. Being from here, on some level, meant that you were exposed to a million different cultures in a way that you wouldn’t be in a small town. Not that DC is actually that big. It also doesn’t help that I went to an international school in an international city. So that all of my friends are from all over the world. If we counted half nationalities my class alone represented 95 nations among its 43 graduates. It is in this microcosm of a melting pot that I grew up and was exposed to many different ideas. These 43 people are now scattered all over the world but every year some of us come together to attend the winter gathering and of course both marvel and lament at the changes at the school that we went to. When I went, we didn’t have a gym and instead will bust to facilities off-campus. Not only do they have a gym now, but they also have a theater and a coffee shop. And I don’t mean in the sense of the Amsterdam coffee shop. These changes were bound to happen, but also they meant the gradual fading away of the school that I remember. But I was among my people and that felt really nice.
I also went to the Washington creative writers club and was welcomed with open arms. Actually, it was probably more like daggers drawn. As I was told by my friend Adam “if you don’t come to the meeting we will hunt you down and drag you there”. Under threat like that, there was no possibility of me not going. And I’m really glad that I did. While I cannot say that I slipped back seamlessly into the group, I kind of think that if I ever came back to the US on a permanent basis I would be able to fit right in and that would make it a bit easier. And while I didn’t read, I didn’t get a chance to talk about my writing and where the book is going. It was with an exhale of relief that I realized they were still my people.
Tomorrow is Christmas and so I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas if you celebrate and happy holidays if you do not. I am off to celebrate with my own family and then boxing day is taken up by Jasper’s family. The next post will be New Year’s Eve, and I will once again be back in Amsterdam. It might sound a little bit jumbled and garbled as I will be severely jetlagged but Never fear, I will still write something.
That’s all she wrote for this Inkreadable installment. But stay tuned. As always, there is more to come.
Inkreadable 