I arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico today. I will be staying here with my parents for a time, and relaxing. It's still a little strange being back in America, although I feel like I'm reacclimatizing quickly. The big cars don't bother me at all, and the big portions in restaurants already feel pretty natural (uh-oh, those twelve pounds are going to come right back!) Even the enormously high prices don't seem unnatural, especially since I never did too much conversion to dollars when I was buying things in India and Thailand.

I've been able to see a bunch of my friends so far, in San Francisco and Los Angeles. It's great to be able to see people you haven't seen in a long time and usually I don't get a lot of opportunities to travel. Many thanks to Michelle and Andi for graciously and generously housing me in San Francisco and LA, respectively.

San Francisco was, as always, impeccably dressed. Maybe I couldn't live there after all. On the plus side, the burrito I had in the Mission was just shockingly fantastic, and it really hit the spot - I've been craving Mexican food for months. The bridges and many of the residential neighborhoods are really pretty there. Sometimes they seem too pretty somehow - too neat and clean for me, but perhaps I'd get used to it. Anyway it's a real fun town and I had a fun time there.

Andi loaned me her car in LA, so I didn't have to go around on the bus like a cripple. And I did do a little driving, trying to take in the sights. It can be a very pretty city too, especially if you get yourself into some of the many nearby mountains. Not many big American cities have mountains in them, so that's a real treat. And of course the Mexican food there was also superb so my craving continued to be satisfied on that front. And obviously hanging out with Andi is always great fun. But eventally it was time to move on, which brings me here, to New Mexico.

I have my new (replacement) camera, and I'll start taking pictures again as soon as I can. I only regret that I couldn't get more pictures of all the wonderful people I met in Thailand, or saw again in California. Well, there will be more trips after this one!

- posted by Joachim @ 6:35 PM