turn and face the strange...

So, I have to admit, I'm still waiting for my time abroad to "Change My Life." Apparently this is what's supposed to happen when you live in a foreign country for a few months. I mean, maybe it's because I didn't go to a place with a different language or culture to get used to, or because I'm not here with other people new to the country, discovering the new place as a group and developing into a family, as the brochure version of students in other continents are supposed to be doing. But I just feel like put-put-put with no religious experiences or Morgan Freeman hobos-of-wisdom inspiring me to do great things.

That all said, I have definitely noticed a number of possibly-insignificant changes in my habits which will probably amount to something when all is said and done. I've been here a little over a month, living on my own. Three summers ago I lived in my own studio apartment, but it was on campus and there were other student workers living in the same complex, so I often shared meals and hung out with friends. Summer '06 was a pretty crazy time for me, though, so I think my living habits were uncharacteristic - more of a byproduct of circumstances. I've always been fine with a bit of clutter (shoes, clothes, books more strewn than they should be), but my solo apartment of summer '06 was dirty. Not just messy, but actually unclean. Gross.

Lately, though I usually catch up with dirty dishes at the end of the night instead of as they come, I've been extra-clean. My mother's neuroses have crept into my daily life (hi mom!), particularly handwashing. I'm able to pinpoint the last thing I touched whenever I'm about to eat, and then I have to wash my hands because ew. I saw a child touching the ground and then putting food in her mouth with the same hand and I wanted to smack her. I will be a good mother. I'm partial to wiping down all the surfaces in my kitchen every day or two, even though I infrequently use them. I give myself two weeks before I'm doing the same in the laundry and bathroom.

A big change in habits is that I'm rarely watching TV. There are two or three shows on TV each week that I want to tune in to, and otherwise I don't even think to turn on the tube. This is even a change from 2 weeks ago. The thing is, I discovered podcasts. So I've been listening to some L.A. radio via iTunes, as well as subscriptions to The Economist, This American Life, and a zillion history/science/nutrition/environment podcasts. So, yes, I have media streaming at me at all times, so that's no change, but this is the future and I live and breathe with the internet as I do with blood and oxygen, so what are ya gonna do? My enjoyment of TAL is a surprise to me, as I generally think NPR is increeeeedibly annoying and pretentious. And Ira Glass' voice certainly is. I can hear him smirking the whole time. But the stories are quite entertaining, so I think it's great radio. And of course, I buy the latest episode of Gossip Girl every week and watch ANTM on YouTube. This is still considerably ratcheted down from the 1,000 channels and TiVo HD I watch at home.

But some things never change...I still sing in the shower. Lately, it's been the Spice Girls even though I don't remember most of the words. Yeah, I'm pretty cool, you guys.