never know

it's my third day here in florida, and even if i am still in a somewhat transitional phase things feel rather fine overall. the last week in finland was pretty intense with all the packing and cleaning and organizing things and leaving farewells and all that; added to that the two long days of travel, first to paris and from there to orlando with an added bonus of almost missing the connecting flight in newark due to the delay in the first flight and my boyfriend almost passing out in the border control because of food poisoning - well, let's just say that i am quite content with just relaxing right now.

and what better place to do it really, we are staying at the in-laws in a what sounds (and quite frankly, is) like a somewhat strange place - an age-restricted community. my friend mentioned recently that florida is the stop before death given the large amount of pensioners you have around here, but i do see why they flock here and in this place in particular; the weather is lovely, there are palm trees and golf courses and everything is extremely clean and pretty and well-maintained. it does feel rather odd every now and then, having almost every person you come across with being 60 and over on those neverending streets of an US suburbia with the flags in the poles and all - but then again, there is everything you need here, and i can perfectly well see why people of that age would want to live here.

but like i said it is very relaxing, and in terms of running it's great too. before i came i was slightly nervous about it as i've heard the horror stories of non-existent pavements and excess of traffic and so on, but it is pretty calm here and about half of the vehicular traffic is actually done with golf carts, so i am more than fine. i like the openness of the landscape (well, golf courses) and the quirky detail of greeting every pedestrian you come across (there isn't that many to be honest).

i sleep well and already feel rested; but the fact that this kind of life where i don't have a fixed schedule is not for two weeks or a month or the length of a holiday at all but instead for quite a while ahead - that hasn't entirely sunk in yet. i am trying to let go of the pressure to do things constantly, and i think i am managing quite well at the moment - we will see how it goes once this new pace of life has gone on a bit longer. will i go mad? will i start climbing on walls once i have done away my sleep deprivation and properly refueled my energy levels? hard to say, but i am taking this all as a sort of an social experiment - i am in a situation in my life i have never been before in a place i haven't even been able to imagine - i would think there might be something to learn from this all.

golf, if nothing else.