360degree, all around

This week just flew by, I felt as if I had my head down for the entire week, not taking the time to smell the flowers, enjoy the breeze, look up and marvel at the sight of Table Mountain…. Guess it was just one of those weeks where everything was played at 4x speed…!

Remembering the first 2months of this year, I was happily frozen in oblivion (read: Chicago winter) having graduated for 6months, took on my first full-time job, and still looking to find that balance between living as an adult v.s. the freedom of a student. All I knew was that I needed to GET OUT – to get out of my comfort zone, get out of the familiarity of US, get out to live and explore the world…

Chicago Skyline at night, from Michigan Lake

I remember when most people I spoke to thought I was crazy, moving to South Africa. Thinking back, I am beginning to see things from the other side of the glass. New college graduate, working my first real-life 9 to 5 job, how can I see the path ahead and figure out the best way to go forward?  Why am I not taking the safe route, get my feet planted on the ground and adjust to adulthood, solidify the new friendship circle I’ve finally begin to develop, enjoying the impending Chicago summer and all that the city had to offer… and so much more.

I could hear little bubbles as I wonder through Chicago; eating Pollo con Mole in Mexican town, writing Yelp reviews about Lakeview and the new vintage stores popping up around the block, lazy Sunday afternoons in Wicker Park, the bustling streets of the Magnificent Mile during peak hours… There’s so much here, but there’s so much out there too.  How do I balance the need for new experience, and the comforting stability to finally call a city my home? Chicago is an incredible city, and its international residents basically bring the world to my doorstep, yet I knew I find myself craving for much, much more…?

It’s been 7 weeks since I arrived in Cape Town. I am learning the delicate balance to adjust to a new job, new city, new country, meeting and building up new friends, trying new food and struggling to find good, authentic Asian restaurants…  Everything’s whirling and spinning like the coffee cup ride at carnivals, or the good old county fairs.  I wish there’s more hours in the day, and that I’d have more energy after work to immense myself in the city..  It's been a long journey, but I think I am finally beginning to appreciate taking the time to breath, enjoy a cup of rooibos tea on a lazy Saturday morning, stop, and smell the flowers...

Bustling streets of Woodstock, Cape Town