The First Month in Monterey

Well, it's been a month since I arrived in Monterey, or more specifically, Seaside, California. Here are some of the highlights so far:

Monterey has several towns that are kind of clustered all together in a hilly and picturesque web. I live in Seaside, which is right next to Sand City, but also Del Monte, Carmel, Salinas, Pebble Beach, and Pacific Grove are all wrapped around this section of Monterey Bay. No one really cares about the names of the towns, everyone kind of just refers to the whole clump as "Monterey." Californians are good at not getting worked up about stupid things like names.

It is absolutely spectacularly beautiful here. First of all, I live about 2.5 minutes away from the ocean, which suits me just fine. If I look out my kitchen window, I can see a small patch of ocean through the trees and across the highways. The bay is surrounded by hills and dunes covered in all sorts of wonderful, scrubby-looking, low-ground-covering plants. I like this type of foliage, because it is entirely different than the smooth, manicured lawns of Ashland, Ohio. The hills and colorful foliage remind me of a badly sewn quilt - not entirely rugged, not entirely perfect, but patchy and kind of tossed together as if it were an afterthought in the quilter's thinking process. It's beautiful. And it smells absolutely incredible.

It's typically about 65-70 degrees most days here, but occasionally it cools down into the 50s. Again, this suits me just fine. Everyone who knows anything about me knows that I absolutely loathe being hot. I get cranky, tired, and generally unpleasant when I'm overheated, which in my case, is very easy to do. I love the cooling winds that blow right off the ocean here. I find it invigorating and refreshing, never a bother.

I'm having a great time with my adorable and cuddly niece, Ellie. She's 8 months old now, and every day she learns new things. She's recently been experiencing the absolute joy of learning how to laugh. When she hears herself laugh, she becomes overjoyed with amusement and can't stop laughing. Then she starts shrieking with happiness, which makes the rest of us laugh, which makes Ellie-Belly laugh even harder. It's a really glorious game.

As wonderful and lovely as she is, she does have some really odd quirks. She LOVES to play with a plastic baby-spoon, it's easily her favorite toy. She cannot stand to have her face wiped off after she eats, and the whole ordeal usually results in not a small-sized tantrum. It's ridiculous. She also is not a fan of having her diaper changed while she's on her back. I've got it down to a science now, and I just do it while she's on her belly and distracted with a toy and therefore unaware. Sometimes, it takes all three of us to hold that baby down and change her diaper. We can't figure out why she hates it so much. It's really annoying. Am I allowed to say that an 8 month old's habits are annoying? Well, I don't care. Because they are. Get it together, Elle-Bell.

Other than the weird bits, I'm so glad that I have this opportunity to watch my niece grow. Every day is a little bit different than the day before. She is good natured, curious, intelligent, wiggly, funny, and beautiful. Her expressions remind me of John's facial expressions. Perhaps it's the fact that they both sometimes behave like babies, or just the fact that they both have a very innocent and pure sort of perspective. Being able to spend this time with this part of my family is such a gift. I'm so glad to be here.

I got a job at Target, and I should be starting soon. Here's a bit of culture shock that I experienced: After going on several interviews lately, I realized that it wouldn't be the worst idea I've ever had to learn Spanish while I'm here. This endeavor would prove to be extremely easy, because all I'd have to do is just start talking to my coworkers - or anyone that lives here, really. This is the first time in my life that I have lived in a place that is so obviously diverse, racially. I appreciate that aspect, and hopefully it will allow me to become bilingual. I'll give it a good try.

That's pretty much it for now. I will try to remember to keep up with my blog while I'm here. I'm sure there will be plenty to write about.

Oh. Gas prices here make me want to punch someone in the face. Today it topped $4.20. I almost cried. Thankfully, we have a good public transportation system here, so that should help.

Adios!