Pre-Departure

Wrapping up my life in Austin was more emotionally tough than I thought it would be. A perfect storm of personal, family, and career variables made for a very bittersweet and difficult transition into the next chapter of my life. I successfully packed and shipped my worldly possessions, unloaded bike and furniture onto unwitting craigslist shoppers, and enjoyed an extended goodbye celebration with all the good folks I met through kickball, ICES, work, and the wonderful friends-of-friends network that makes Austin such a friendly city.

I've been home the past two weeks to spend some quality time with my mom and dad. I do wish the circumstances of my visit were different (my mom is undergoing chemotherapy), but really I'm just glad to have the opportunity to take care of my mom after all the years she took care of me.

I complained a lot about Syracuse when I was growing up, but like all things, it becomes easier to appreciate the farther away you get. And after living in such a dry, hot place for so long, I'm starting to appreciate the scenery:

My dad and I have been to the regional farmer's market twice - its a Saturday institution here and nothing like the farmer's market in Austin. The prices are unbelievable - on both visits, we spent under $15 and got a basket of tomatoes, green beans, two bunches of gigantic radishes, two bunches of scallions, a pint of strawberries, three bell peppers, a pint of mini sweet peppers. To top it off, we indulged our inner fat kids with some fried spring rolls from the Laotian food stand.

I'm continually amazed at the variety of languages and cultures at the market. Syracuse has a large refugee community for a city of its size, due in large part to the many Catholic churches here that sponsor families. I wanted to take pictures of the refugees shopping at the market, many of them in some semblance of native dress, but didn't know how to do that without being offensive. I was thinking how for many of them, this open-air market where haggling is acceptable and the vendors get to know their clientele, must be a welcome reminder of home.

Those are buckets, yes, buckets of blueberries. I think they were $5. Austin, take note.
We didn't need to buy any blueberries, however, because we had these right waiting for us at home!