Home Town Feelings

Victoria is a cool place. I'm staying out of town on the peninsula with my mom, of course, but lately, I have been spending more time out and about in Victoria itself. I stayed downtown the other night at my friend's place, and apart from having a great time doing that, there was another surprise piece of joy: the morning!

I love waking up in the morning in my own hometown! It was so great to be right there, the beach is right there, people are right there, cafes with real muffins are everywhere, people are walking around in the morning interacting with each other... wow. I felt like I had re-entered civilization! I was not surrounded by endless impersonal voiceless fog like out on the peninsula.

And it was sunny. I could hear seagulls. I could smell freshness. People were speaking different languages. I can speak Chinese with people in Victoria. I borrowed a french book from the library and I am practicing my French!

It's easy to feel awake and alive in the morning when I'm in a city, even if it is only a small provincial capital on the tip of an island on the edge of the Pacific. Especially when there is so much here connecting me to my childhood: the acorns being ground into the dirt beside the sidewalks, the chestnuts rotting on the boulevards, bare garry oak arms reaching up from rocky outcroppings, peacocks calling in the park... the scent of vanilla wafting from the ice cream shop on government street... the canned classical music in market square...