my anniversary

I grew up in a stable American family. We moved many times to various suburbias. I was a good student with good grades, therefore it seemed to me that I had a good grasp on things.

In the summer after my junior year at college (mechanical engineering, honor student) I went to Europe with a student tour/thing. I have never been the same.

My world view was thrust back in my face. My world view was the American standard, a two dimensional cut-out from a happy meal. Confronted with a greater, more subtle, more interesting reality, it was clear that I was stupid. I didn’t like that. And I wanted to know what I didn’t know.

So I made a plan.

I would finish university, get a job, pay back my loans, save money, and leave America. A one way ticket. And don’t come back for at least one year.

I set myself a date, five years in the future, fixing it in my stubborn mind. On that date I would leave my American life, and go see something else. I prepared myself with German and French classes, art history, architecture, and stuff like that.

And on my target date, I left my friends, a glorious girlfriend (truly glorious), and my American life. (I still bleed a little from those wounds.)

April 1, 1987.

Twenty years ago. (holy shit! twenty years.)

It’s been quite a ride.