Summer Surreality

Last week I ventured out of society to Sequoia National Forest, then my German friend Luca flew into down and I showed him around San Diego for a couple of days. I discovered a part of the great outdoors of which I was unfamiliar, then showed some friends a city I have grown to know in the past year.


Sequoia is the perfect place to escape is you are ever feeling overwhelmed by any of the various stress inducers that are embedded into our society: traffic, e-mail, work, cell phones, congestion. I was almost relieved when I saw the red X over my cell phone reception bars because I knew that all the company I needed was in the car with me screaming "American Woman" as our tires gripped up the mountain.

I quickly came to realize that this was the first active trip I had taken awhile. We hiked, rode down waterfalls, jumped from bridges/ rocks, zip lined (compliments of Uncle Mike), and paddle boarded the three days away. All the while managing to fit in plenty of beer drinking and some free style rapping here and there. It may sound ridiculous to some, but while injecting my agenda with work and school I tend to feel older than I should, it is these moments which remind me I am so young. The laughing shakes my shoulder as if to say, "You have all the time in the world to get it together. Have fun!"

The fun continued when a friend who had housed my in Berlin came to California for a short trip, he brought his roommate Lee. We drove into San Diego, arriving exhausted we ended the night with a Jersey Shore nightcap. The next day we ate breakfast overlooking Pacific Beach, laid on the California coastline sand, and bbq'ed poolside at my apartment complex. Three kids from very different backgrounds shared the same foundation for sarcastic humor, talking about celebrities, and music. We compared our lives and appreciation for each other's. To me paradise would be to go live in Berlin for a year after I graduated, acting as a cultural sponge for culture.

Overall this was one of those weeks which fly by and almost feel surreal when you look back on them. Especially since I ended it all with a beach bonfire last night, like some scripted OC episode.