It is extremely important for me to have a sense of personal space and right now I feel that things are a bit crowded. It’s kind of funny that a decade has passed since I have been in touch with my friends from Chile and now, thanks to facebook, I have been communicating with lots of people from my childhood and early teens including classmates from back when I was in fourth grade, ex-boyfriends, volleyball teammates- they are all on Facebook. Because of this phenomenon, the next couple months of my life are pretty much scheduled around visitors. I am really excited to reconnect with my old friends, but at the same time I am worried, because I absolutely need my alone time in order to function and I don’t foresee myself having any alone time for a very long time. I am already feeling a high level of anxiety and this is just the beginning!

It’s really flattering to be remembered by people I met 20 years ago, and really relieving also. One thing I have noticed about people in the U.S. is that a lot of them don’t feel the same levels of nostalgia as I do. I could honestly recite all of my classmate’s names from kindergarten forward (and even most of their birthdays) if I wanted, and most people I have met in the U.S. think I am extremely strange for having this ability, and for having such a good memory. It’s actually embarrassing sometimes because I get teased a lot about it. However, I am realizing now with Facebook that perhaps this is a cultural thing, as several of my classmates from back in the 80′s in Chile are adding me as friends and sharing scattered childhood memories they have of me… so, basically my point is that there are other weirdos like me out there.

The next few weeks will be interesting.. perhaps a little overwhelming in some ways, but I think overall it will be really good for me…

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