Life inside

Santa Cruz has been a dream. Can't you tell? I have a three month visa in the USA and spent one third of it in this little paradise. In a way, I feel like I'm on an island, the pace of life here is just so nice and slow. Going for my afternoon coffee, reading books. Feels like a holiday, really. Just as I was thinking whether it was time to give myself a kick in the butt and hit the road (I'm on a road trip, after all), I got sick. 

After five days of laying low, watching every movie on Netflix, reading until my head hurt too much, crawling into my blanket fort and sleeping until days and nights became one blurry mess, I decided this was real. I was sick. Nothing I could heal with my friend Ethan's delicious chicken soup for the soul and onions under my feet. The morning called for urgent care. I couldn't drink, eat or talk anymore. Plus I dropped some heavy thing on my toe. Sickness always comes with extreme clumsiness here. So I limped my way to urgent care. The lady at the reception threw a mask at me as soon as I whispered I had a throat infection. 

"Five hundred dollars!" She smiled. I yelled as much as I could with no voice that THAT'S INSANE! What on earth do they do to you for that amount of money? I soon found out the most expensive minute of my life was spent with a man in a suit prescribing me antibiotics. What did I expect? 

Anyway, long story short: I CAN TALK AGAIN! And eat! And drink! As my energy levels are still low, I'm taking my time to heal. It's not easy for me to sit still, but I am really enjoying this down time. As autumn slowly moves over summer, my body is recovering from months of next to no sleep, dancing, driving, camping, adventures. 

Secretly, autumn has always been one of my favourite seasons (after spring and summer) because of its cosiness. It's okay to be inside, to play music and cook up a big hearty stew, to read all day, to take long baths. To try something your inner grandma has always been longing to try: learn how to crochet! Buy yourself flowers. Decide when you get better, you will be a burlesque dancer. In the mean time, you live in your pj's and write a new book.