Sarah: All the Time

One of the things I struggle with living in San Diego is the weather. When you grow up in the midwest, you begin to equate weather with events, holidays, & emotions. The weather is so fickle & tricky that you never know what to expect on any given day.

But here...it's nice all the time. Even when it's chilly, it's nice. I don't know how to react to this kind of consistent weather. Back in Ohio or Illinois, when it snowed & I didn't like it I could just boycott the weather and stay curled up in bed. Or if was rainy & cold I could take out my angered disappointment by staying indoors. But here...when it's nice all the time, I feel like I need to be happy all the time. And I usually am. The weather here doesn't accommodate bad moods or bad days. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe it's what I need in life. More sunshine.

It's going to be in the mid-seventies here in my little neighborhood. After that little rant above, I feel sheepish admitting that I'm looking forward to it.

Tomorrow I'm going to post some of my goals for 2012. Stay tuned.

Sarah: Homesick

I know I'm going to sound crazy in this post--but here I go:

I've been feeling homesick lately.

image is from here

 In the comment section of this post, I told Kels some of the things I'm missing about Elgin:

Kels: "Is Papi the only thing you miss about Elgin?"

Sar: "No. I also miss cooler weather, changing leaves, Al's creamery, the convenience of JU's gym, only being 1 hour difference from my family (and a 6 hour car ride away),and my lovely/spacious apartment. However, El Faro doesn't even compare to the awesome Mexican food going on here."


Good Mexican food is my silver lining.

Time doesn't seem to progress here. I'm pretty sure it's because of the 24/7 sunshine. You might think I'm bragging, but as a girl who grew up near Lake Erie, with lake effect and all that jazz, I'm used to the cold. And I didn't realize that I would actually miss it. The changing seasons have always defined the holidays, my clothing, even sometimes my mood. And now--it's constantly sunny. Since September, it has rained twice. I miss maple trees and the changing colors of leaves. I miss the chilliness of November. I miss the need for a scarf and cute hat. I will especially miss the first snow of the year (which I think has already occurred?) which has always brought me some inexplicable joy. I dedicate one whole page of my journal to the first snow of the year. I hope it gets colder here.

I wasn't lying about writing about it my journal.

I miss friends. Frank and I still haven't made any friends--and not for lack of trying. We're going out & exploring churches (which by the way-we think we found a good one!), so we're hopeful! Maybe for Thanksgiving we'll have our Somali neighbors over : )

Most of our time so far in San Diego has been so good. I would say 80% of the time we've been here has been wonderful. I go through stages though, where I can only see the rest of that homesick 20%. This homesickness is just  a phase...but I thought I'd share it with you. Feel free to send your cold weather my way. In the spirit of wanting to feel autumn-y, I'm making salsa chicken & black bean soup in the crock pot for dinner. I'm so excited : )

Sarah: Autumn

Autumn is my favorite season. By far. I love the crisp air, warm sunshine, pumpkins, football games (falling asleep during them, not watching them), the changing of leaves, and light layers. But for some reason, this year....I'm just not feeling it.

What is wrong with me??


Here's my theory:
I left America in August a sunny and warm 82 degrees to arrive in beautiful Uganda which has perfect weather all day, everyday. I think I forgot that we were coming back in the middle of September - aka autumn. I actually didn't think that much about coming home (escapism) I was shocked as I walked out of the international terminal to a chilly 50 degrees and tons of sunshine! What the heck kind of weather is this?!

I think I'm tired of the midwest and its fickle weather.

Tomorrow, we're leaving Elgin and heading to San Diego. Which by the way, is only 21 minutes from the Mexican border.

So midwesterners, once the beauty of fall is over and the bitter winter has set in and you're all freezing your butts off - come visit me in sunny San Diego.