They say that, “home is where the heart is.” If that’s the case, I think my “home” spans out across the entire country. I have pieces of my home in California, pieces of my home in Connecticut, and hopefully, I will have pieces of home in Atlanta too. Two years ago, I made a move from the most southern and most western part of mainland USA to the north-east. The two places could not have been more opposite, but over time, I came to love both of my homes and find people who I cared about and cherished in both of them. A few weeks ago, I had to make my journey from home #1 in California to an entirely new home in Atlanta, Georgia. So here I was, about to uproot myself and make a move to an entirely different part of the country, AGAIN. I was lucky that my mom was nice enough to accompany me.
We took the I-40 through 10 states
- California
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Texas
- Oklahoma
- Arkansas
- Tennessee
- Mississippi
- Alabama
- Georgia
I loved watching the terrain and landscapes change from region to region. In Arizona, we were graced with a beautiful sunset.
And the skies over New Mexico were vast and beautiful.
The weather was also strange and intense. We left a temperate, sunny, Southern California, and were met with torrential downpours from New Mexico onwards. Never in my life had I seen rain like this. It came in hard, pounding, thick sheets and was relentless for about 45 mins or so. Then, just as soon as it started, it stopped. The best thing about the rain was that it allowed us to see this;
What I loved even more than the changing terrain was observing the differences in people and culture. I tried to make it a point to do something “typical” of whatever place we happened to be in.
I spent my last few hours in California doing yoga and eating In N Out. In New Mexico, we stumbled across the cutest and most delicious little restaurant called El Patio. The food was amazing and on the way out we found a little cafe that was right up my mom’s alley.
Who would have thought we could get authentic chai in New Mexico?
In Texas, we had to stop and have steak at the Big Texan
.
Everything in this place was larger than life. From the people, to the furniture, to the food, things were on a grander scale here. I ordered the rib-eye, and it did not disappoint. It was tender and juicy. I was dreaming about the flavor for days.
I knew we were entering the south when things started to get confusing. Some of the people in Arkansas had accents so thick you couldn’t cut them with a steak knife. In Memphis, the woman who checked us in to our hotel had a tag on the front of her shirt that read “Trainee”. I wasn’t sure if it was her job title or her name.
I could not leave Memphis without trying some authentic bbq, so we stopped at a place called Central BBQ. I LOVED IT!!! I have been waiting for bbq like this my whole life. Southern bbq is definitely not something you want to mess with, and I hope I get to enjoy it many more times during my stay here.
When we finally arrived in Atlanta, I took a good, long, hard look at the skyline and thought about what the city may hold for me. To be honest, I am terrified out of my mind. I have a feeling I will grow to love it here just like I love California and yes, even New Haven. Day by day, I will slowly start to make this city my home. In the meantime, I know I will always have my other homes to go back to. Next time though, I think I will fly.
