Last weekend I took my 12th plane ride of the summer. I was coming from Nashville and heading to Denver. In the seat next to me was a skinny guy reading a physicians' magazine. I was dead-tired and wanting mostly to sleep, but he struck up a conversation.
"So," he said, "what do you do?"
I hesitated and looked at the seat back in front of me.
"This," I said. "This is what I do."
That question, "What do you do," has tripped me up constantly all summer. Normally, that question can be answered with three or four words: "I'm a _______."
My answer is slightly more complicated: "Well, I've been living in the Middle East, where usually I teach English and learn Arabic and hang out with people a lot, but right now I'm home for the summer--except I'm not really home too much, I'm always off somewhere--and I've been doing a lot of writing, but I also started a volunteer job for this non-profit called Coburwas, but also I've just been going a lot of places, and..."
People like me just don't fit here.
Hi Beth!
ReplyDeleteMy blogging as taken a nose dive over the summer, to much fun to be had! I'll get back to it though. :)
I can relate a bit to you on this post, answering the question "where are you from?" has become a loaded one, because once you tell them where we are living I am sure you can imagine the conversation that follow!
So I guess well be seeing you soon. We are heading back in 5 days. When are you?