Thursday, October 11, 2007

Becoming Accustomed

I am still trying to get used to this climate. I have been living in California for just a bit over a year and I am still not used to how warm it is most of the time. Today, the high temperature was ~80*. This time of year in Minnesota, the high temperature is usually in the upper 50s or low 60s. It seems strange to me to wear shorts and short sleeved tops this late into the year.

The other thing that is strange here is the fact that there is virtually no afterglow when the sun sets. The sky goes from bright to dark in a manner of minutes here. Back east, the darkness comes on more gradually. I am not entirely sure why that is, perhaps it is a function of how close we are to sea level here, compared to the Midwest. Who knows? All I know is that the sun just set, a minute ago, and in 5 minutes it will be pitch black.

I spent the afternoon with a few of my new friends here, at the park with our kids. It is difficult sometimes, having only been here for a year, knowing that my 20-30 year friendships are all back there, and making new friends as an adult can be really hard. But I am making friends, and it is fun when we can all get together and talk, while our kids are playing in the park. I have actually learned a lot about myself this past year, moving away from the old and incorporating the new. It has not always been fun.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

In my experience, it takes about 3 years to reorient that four season internal clock to the climate here. Even then, one trip back to winter at home and you'll risk losing your bearings again.

CA has two seasons: wet, and not wet.

-Gormy, another transplant.