Boston, or what the heck am I doing here??

A trans-atlantic flight must be the closest simulation of birth that adults can experience. A grueling passage in a dark space with poor ventilation, profound exhaustion, and the emergence into daylight feeling cranky, grimy, and ready to scream.

Thus I return to the new world, fresh as a daisy after some 22 hours in planes. My first activity? Jump on a train to Boston the morning following just a few hours of strange sleep. Dormo ancora, o son desto? Che contrade rimiro, e che terren calpesto? Ulysses murmurs to himself after Neptune sweeps him ashore on his own country. Do I still sleep, or am I awake? What city do I see, what land do I tread? Arriving home was a trip through the looking glass.

Was I really in Rome all this time? Are those actually friends I made, or just my own dreams, evidenced only by my already grey memory and miniature images on my digital camera? And what will happen to those friendships after a few years, or just a short time? I prefer a long-term stay to a whirlwind city tour, but the drawback is that I have to adjust both coming and going, and I break my heart a little along the way. There's one companion who I particularly miss right now.

Boston is a gentle city, more quiet and boring than New York, but on a more human scale. Italians would comment to me that it is a rather a European city. But nonetheless, I smirked as I walked past "historic" 19th century churches. How can I take them seriously after seeing places that have been there for 2,000 years? But I felt comfortable there for one day, and I think I'm making the right move in going up. Even the women making my sandwich and the guys in the copy shop were friendly; they made eye contact and smiled. Eye contact! Smiles! I'm not in New York anymore! I saw an ad for low-carb bread, felt my stomach turn and knew I was at home.

The day was nearly as hot as a Roman afternoon, but the hazy light and the sky the color of clam chowder reminded me that I was a long way from the Mediterranean. I summoned my strength for a job interview, which went rather well, and briefly greeted some friends. I wrote my thank-you note in the hyper air-conditioned lobby of a hotel (I do like that A/C!), and sighed as I finished off the last of my Roman spring water.

Spending this weekend on the Rhode Island shore with my parents and a family friend, I feel like I'm looking at the wrong side of the ocean.