"You Going to Cali?" Reflections on Leaving Oregon

As I rode in a Lyft this morning to the airport, I found myself reflecting a lot on my first 7 months in Oregon.  It hasn't sunk in that I won't be back in Portland until August and I wasn't expecting to feel so sad about that.  It's funny how big life changes make me take stock of my experience and realize the things that have changed while I wasn't paying attention.

The first big one is the community that Simon and I have started to build here.  It was really challenging moving to Oregon and knowing that in 7 months we'd be on the other side of the world.  Between being newlyweds, new homeowners, and having new jobs, we didn't have much time to start reaching out and making friends.  But as we prepared to leave Portland, I found myself realizing that we have started building a support system here.  From Simon's boss friend John inviting us over for homemade pizza the weekend before we left to my Nike colleagues friends offering to drive me to the airport this morning, it is nice to know we have people looking out for us.  We will surely miss you all but hope to keep in touch and pick up right where we left off this fall!

One unexpected source of community has been our neighbors who we share our cul-de-sac with.  This morning as the Lyft pulled up and I started loading my SIX bags into the car, they walked over to say goodbye and wish me a good trip.  They've shared their contact info with us and offered to mow our lawn while we are gone, and I know that our house will have a good caretaker in our absence.

Something else I realized... six months is a long time to be away!  I will certainly miss the beautiful PDX summer, but it's nice to know everything won't be so grey when I get back.  I caused a minor scene at the airport this morning as I pushed two luggage carts through the airport, each bag representing a month of this adventure.  Now, I swear it's not all my stuff!  That big one on the bottom right is extra clothes for Simon, and one of those bags is full of shoes (a necessity when you work at the coolest sneaker brand on the planet.)

One final, shorter story: when the Lyft driver saw all my bags this morning his response wasn't "Are you moving?" but rather "You going to Cali?".  I couldn't help but laugh - Oregonians are fiercely protective of their attitude toward life and some are certain that Californians moving here are going to destroy it.  I am proud to be an Oregonian and was almost offended when he thought I was from Cali.

It'll take 17 hours and two planes to get me to Shanghai but I am finally on my way.  Wish me luck and hope we'll get a post from Simon soon!

-Katy

It's Really Happening!

Simon and I have known for 6 months that I was headed to Shanghai in March.  What we didn't know was what an amazing time we would have in Portland before I left, and how hard it would be to leave.  What we also didn't know was whether Simon would be coming with me to Shanghai, staying in Portland, heading back east, or going on his own adventure.

As I write this, Simon is currently on a flight over the Pacific Ocean on his way from Honolulu to Melbourne, where he will begin his own adventure working the wine harvest in southern Australia.  When he lands, he has a few days booked at a Melbourne hostel and then will figure out his next steps from there.

I just finished up an epic day of errands, including saying goodbye to my Nike friends, meeting a Chinese couple who gave me great advice about Shanghai, and visiting the DMV sloths to get our car registration switched from Vermont to Oregon.  There are a bunch more errands to get done before I leave for Shanghai on Tuesday morning and at this point I am eager to wrap everything up and get on the road myself.

Neither of us has really blogged before on a consistent basis, but I'm hoping we can keep this up as a way to remember and share our adventures in Asia/Australia.

Until next time,
-Katy