It’s been happening a lot lately that I’ll see someone that I think I know. Then I realize that person actually doesn’t live here. He was one of my students in Spain. She was one of my college friends who now lives in D.C.. This I-thought-I-knew-you syndrome is something that plagues us who move often.
This month is the tenth month that I have been in Kansas City. Ten months is the longest I have lived consecutively in one place since I graduated high school six years ago. So it makes sense that my feet are starting to get pretty itchy. Yet, I’m about to sign a twelve month lease.
Incessant traveling for the past six years has taught me some things: how to adapt, pack lightly, be alone, take care of myself, act discreetly, speak Spanish, make decisions, be responsible for my belongings, accept help from people, make friends on trains, ask for directions, say goodbye.
But there are plenty of things that I never learned while traveling. In fact, I’m really bad at: being patient, making long term commitments and investments, dealing with routine, making compromises.
So on those days when I’m about to take what I’ve got and making a run for it, I stop myself. I remind myself why this time I will stay for a little while. I want to know my city better, I want to take some classes, I want to make some long term investments, I want to see my friends on the East Coast, and I want to visit the West Coast. When I leave again I hope I will be a more patient person. But I expect that I will continue to see people around me who actually live in different time zones.
Anne Foster 