As I return to the Bay Area tonight, it will be interesting to see how quickly I fall back into comfortability with my old environment. Rural northeast Texas is different; the people, the setting, the way of life. However, I reminded myself throughout my visit here that it’s not that different. Is it as dissimilar to California life as Laos? Or Kenya or Bolivia? And really, are those places so far removed from a familiar reference point that a Californian couldn’t understand? The more of the world I see, the more fascinated I am, because it becomes clearer and clearer: we harbor thousands of unique cultures that provide their own beautiful inspiration for the joy that is life, and yet... we are all the same. We all want the same things, we just sometimes go about it in special ways. So long for now Texas, I’ll be back. Howdy California, I’ll be eager to adopt the lessons I’ve learned here, to add to my enjoyment and understanding of this wonderful life.