Then suddenly it came.
The day when it’s time for me to leave California (for now at least).

The fact that I feel as if this day came out of nowhere I hope can be a testamente to my ability to be present in the moment and make the most of my time here.

These words are typed 10 000 meter up in the air somewhere over Arizona or something, on the flight between LAX and Copenhagen and will have to be posted at a later time, and I feel like there will be some sort of full summary of this year written at some point when I’m back, but I still want a few lines and photos from these last days here on my little corner of the Internet. This blog was initially a way for me to try to keep friends and family updated about my adventures, but it has evolved into something I think I too will be happy to have and look back on.

Thus: the last days in San Diego were spent doing a little bit of everything. I spent a lot of time in the lab, and got to go down to the shipyard by Point Loma when the transducers were to be put in the gondola that will attach to the R/V Revelle. I must admit to quietly questioning if it was really necessary to put Velcro every 1-2 feet for 110 feet along the cable bundles I helped sort out a couple of weeks ago, but now I was very grateful for every single one of them strips of velcro, keeping 68 cables in order as we carefully threaded them though custom made holes. Unfortunately I won’t be able to watch in person as the transducers actually go on the ship, but it’s been great to be part of the journey.

The weather in San Diego has been the typical “June gloom”, that is, grey and pretty cold in the morning until the sun burns off the clouds. I’ve been hiking, sailing and surfing with different friends.

Cleaning out he house and packing up my things has taken some time too, but most of my time the last week has been spent hanging out with some of the amazing people I’ve had the privilege to meet here and give out a bunch of hugs. Saying goodbye when you’re leaving a place with out any real concrete plans to come back is always a bit strange, even though it’s relatively easy to stay in touch nowadays, at least the technology is there, but the human effort is still required. There has been many beautiful, honest meetings and conversations that I will cherish.

My last night in San Diego I ventured down to the beach, went for a surf accompanied by a sea lion and then sat down to watch the Pacific waves roll in one by one. The sky was covered in majestic clouds, and when the sun, at last, fell down behind the horizon it was obscured by them. But that’s alright, California has served up so many beautiful sunsets this year, and I was mostly caught up in thinking about how incredibly fortunate I am to have had the opportunity to do this year abroad, all the nice people I’ve met and how much fun I’ve had.

This morning I loaded my things in a rental car and drove to LAX airport where I, dressed in my winter boots, long pants, a hat and double swathers (gotta keep the checked luggage light you know…), boarded a flight heading east and that in about 11 hours will set me down on my home turf again. After that I have about a week to adjust back to Swedish time before I’ll work as a swim teacher for a couple of weeks, with the best sister ever as my sidekick.

Some form of summary/reflection/image-overload will come in time, but until then: as always, thank you for reading and take care!