Rain comes in many different forms here. Sometimes it’s mild, shallow, a few droplets that give you a sense of longing. Other times, it’s heavy and brutal, like the sky is about to tear. And there are a few moments in between in which it comes steadily, in a dull, constant pattern like everything else that happens on a regular basis. Even when the sun is out, casting a light on almost everything, there may be light droplets of rain.
And yet none of this is strange or depressing or mood crushing. None of this bothers me. I am in a new state, one for which I don’t have a term. We go right and left and say “c’est la vie”, that’s life. And it’s true. Life is rain and sun, politics and tea, coffee and gossip, beer and dancing. I like some of the unruliness of things here (what I say is purely subjective). I may not necessarily agree with it all, but I think the people are generally happier. I am not just saying that because there is no age limit for alcohol and cigarettes. Nor am I saying it because I happen to not have a full, fascinating, adventurous life in Virginia where I eat and sleep at my parents, hang out with a few friends and occasionally find a bottle of beer at my sister’s house. I am just observing, for the little time that I’ve spent here, and in my observation I’ve found a happy world.
Jumping to a little political side: The government takes care of its people; it’s not some politician talking, it’s the government actually making sure the people are taken care of, their health insurance covered, no one is in heavy killer debt, and the kids are having a blast without being stopped for staying out past their curfews. This isn’t about my view on capitalism vs. socialism (those two are both indefinable concepts in my opinion and I need further education to really take a side!) I don’t even know why all of a sudden politics interests me. Maybe this isn’t even politics. I like America. No, I love America. (This is not me being a nationalist all of a sudden; I don’t think I ever was). I love that we compete and want challenges and can a have a job doing practically anything. I love that I can be a great journalist if I want to or that I can have an education in some of the best universities in, probably, the world. But I also enjoy being carelessly happy. I like indulging a small cup of coffee, walking in village-like town squares where cafes and restaurants are more numerous than McDonalds. I like it, as a tourist yes, but also as a person who is still young enough to know there is still time to choose.
Or maybe, I’m just living on the wrong side of America! Maybe if I moved to a big city, or somewhere a little less workaholic-driven, somewhere with sights other than museums and cherry blossoms, then it would be happier, jollier, even with a government that runs on consuming and wasting energy. I mean fuck, pardon the French, can any place be flawless or good enough to meet the great expectations of a teenager with a spoiled mind?