Warp

It's amazing to me how quickly life can change. I feel like in the last 24 hours, I went through a time warp, a culture warp, a language warp, and a weather warp. That's a lot of warping for one person to do in 24 hours, but I make this warp every time I travel back and forth between Chicago and San José...

Time warp. There's no time change on the clock between the two cities (except during Chicago's Daylight Savings Time), so I guess it's better to describe the time warp as a couple decades or something. Fashion is even more 80s thrown in with today's fashion must-haves (think tight leggings with a hot pink shirt with matching shoes and hoop earrings). Technology is the same here but it's not as common... and maybe I feel like it's a time warp because I'm car-less again... so I feel 15 again, with the frustration of wanting to go places but no way to get there. Well, I always have the bus, but it's just not the same as having your own car.

Culture warp. I am quickly reminded that I am a minority while walking in the street. Conversation is slower as I say hello, ask how is your family, and what are your plans before I can get to my gringo point of the convo.

Language warp. English Spanish swap... a.k.a Spanglish on the brain. This one is hard to explain unless you have experienced it for yourself. It's like you forget words in the language you are speaking but you can remember the words in the language you are not supposed to be speaking... makes for an interesting conversation when you're trying to describe vocabulary without knowing the actual word (example: you might describe a gorilla as ''tall black monkey'')...

Weather warp. Cold, snowy winter to warm, sunny summer. I'll take a weather warp any Illinois winter day :).