But why Miami? First, I wanted to see my Godmother. I have a close relationship with her, and the last time I saw her was during my college graduation. She is a remarkable woman, and I look up to and respect her a lot. She’s also a badass (she once fended off a pack of dogs that attacked her with a stick, which is so much more awesome than my strategy of throwing rocks at dogs), has the keys to the city of Miami, and walks around 3 miles daily. She’s lived in Miami for many years, and the last time I was in Miami was when they took Elian's bed. Miami also has great weather, and after spending 2 years in the largest landlocked country in the world and enduring two very cold winters, seeing oceans and beaches and the sun as well as experiencing 70 degree weather every single day is a welcome change.
The second reason is while I feel ready to be in America, I need to gradually acclimate to everything. I do not want to get overwhelmed with seeing everyone, family stuff, and the other 10,000 things I must do to restart my life, from buying a cell phone to applying for jobs. I need some time and space to get used to American things again. For me, when I get overwhelmed or really stressed out, I tend to block out everything and everyone around me and focus inward. It’s like I try to create a really big personal bubble, and I destroy anyone who tries to break into it. As a result whenever I undergo a huge life change (graduation, entering/exiting Peace Corps), sometimes I get standoffish, detached from reality, withdrawn and I reject people. This happened when I came back to America in February, and I don’t want it to happen again. Being in Miami allows me to reach out to my friends and family, get used to being in the US again, and start job hunting gradually and on my own terms so that I don’t get overloaded, freak out, and alienate the people who mean the most to me.
An example of cultural readjustment: The look on my godmother's face when I asked her where to throw toilet paper.
I didn't realize exactly how tired I was until I came to Miami. Istanbul was relaxing, but not in the way I imagined. The first three days at my godmother's house I did nothing but sleep and eat. We spent the rest of our time all over Miami: South Beach, North Beach, Miami Beach, in downtown Miami, and watched the newest Denzel Washington movie Unstoppable. It’s pretty good, but my favorite character is the train. I also spent my 25th birthday in Miami. I didn’t do much but I took my cousin and her boyfriend to see the newest Harry Potter movie (and paid for it too, in following the Kazakh tradition of the birthday person paying for everything. My Kazakh babushka would be so proud.). After that I had dinner with my godmother; a mixture of Caribbean food and seafood.
Tomorrow, I'll head back to the midwest, and to Iowa.
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