Connections in Dallas

I just landed from a three week trip to the USA, taking in Miami and Austin, with brief stops in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The last time I was here, was right at the end of my Cambridge University masters; and it therefore offers rather a convenient moment of Texan-style punctuation from which to reflect and digest.

What a long way I have come. The first time was trans-Atlantic with nothing more than a backpack, a Greyhound ticket via San Antonio, a whim and perhaps a prayer. The next was trans-Pacific, taking in a global design conference, and with an extended stay at the Austin mothership, visiting colleagues that have become firm friends. I have, geographically-speaking at least, come full circle.

It also allows me to look at my Asian experience and life through a different, Americana, lens. I am positive I could feel myself being ‘reculturalized’ (as our resident Cuban, Pedro, so eloquently puts it) back to Western ways in a way I did not feel when returning to Blighty, perhaps because I am on holiday when I head back there. It’s a good feeling to head back to the office with a bit more confrontational spirit and less of the passive-aggressiveness reticence.

Usually, I enjoy writing these blog posts on the way through the trip. I think I felt some mild feeling of vertigo, however, as I imagined a virtual life in the USA, and re-imagined my Asian life; which felt more like a daydream, frankly – Kyoto to Taipei to Shanghai to Miami to Texas … what a head spin!

Jet lag is oozing from every pore of my being right now … time to sort out some photos, unpack and have a coffee. Good to be back to the daydream!