Why DO They Teach Spanish in the Midwest?

         As an East Coast transplant, I marvel on a daily basis at my new community here in my (now) home, San Francisco. Virginia was home - comfortable, quaint, always "just what you would expect". Hurricane season comes every September; tourist season each summer; the trees, the beach, the rain. For years, I had fantisized about moving to the magical land that was California. Bright sun, beautiful people, Christmas in shorts. My mindset was a bit of an anamoly, as many on the east coast (and midwest) have this interpretation that "Cali" is a state of choatic sex fiends who party on into that grand disaster of the next great earthquake that sends us floating into the sea. Additional to the unicorns I had expected on my arrival, there are so many other things you can never explain and appreciate until you have had the luxury of living here. Things like:

The History

       Coming from Virginia (the birthplace of the American colonies), there is this feeling of nostalgia and an anachronistic spirit when passing by places like Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, Washington D.C. - so many of the places that people only have the opportunity to read about in textbooks growing up - are a part of the direct landscape. However, in San Francisco (home....), it offers amazing statements that define the timeline of this country. Haight-Ashbury. Alcatraz. The Golden Gate Bridge(!). Fillmore Street. Heck, a President even died here! (Harding, for those who didn't know. Who knew?) When looked at on a political scale, San Francisco is often looked at as the antagonistic "Queer Confederacy" by much of the nation, but I have seen so much more than that within the confines of it's marvelous buildings and high rises. Speaking of which.....

The People

        California is a place of great personal acceptance and freedom. Certainly, things like manners and personal exchanges are different out here than what I am used to from my roots. Where people out east knew everyone on their street and said "excuse me" in passing, people out here don't offer these comforts - due to a feeling of "we are all just moving along with our time together", not from a place of being rude. People of all sexual, ethnic, religous and personal persuasions find the laissez-faire attitude offered here to fit the needs of a burgeoning petri dish of creativity and self-discovery. Google. Yahoo. Facebook. There is very little "wrong" to be had here; it is more varying shades of grey. (Not the movie - that's in Seattle, I believe)

The Culture

        The incredible amount of variety in the people is equal parts breathtaking, mind blowing and intimidating. You cannot leave your house and venture out into the City without running across many different dialects, languages and styles of people in each interaction. I never missed my diverse collection of "neighbors" when I was growing up somewhere that was considerably more milquetoast and rigidly defined. Having now truly waded into the "melting pot" that Americans so often wear as our badge (and statement) of honor, I can tell you that being without these comforts last month was unusual and felt a bit like my days were missing something passive yet imperative. Learning just enough words to follow conversations in Spanish, French and maintaining my English is part of a greater whole - a grander version of myself.

      There is great comfort in living places where days all blend together - a sense of moving along without really having to consider what is to come next or what impact your presence might be able to create. I would never be able to convince a large majority of people in these places about how much more alive a place like California feels. If you are a person who (like me) seeks to grow as a person and be exhilarated by things you never knew were available - find your way to "the big city". It's never going to be easy, but no experience in this great nation of ours is a simply and profoundly moving as being in a place where the only sure thing is that there is always another option.

       California - Like this; but no guns. :(