HOTlanta

when asking around for things to do on the weekends in the area of Big Stone Gap, someone alerted me that Atlanta is only about 4 hours away. I immediately emailed my friends Carlo and Stef to see if they had any weekends for a visitor. Stef was planning on celebrating her birthday a few days early on July 10th, which marked the halfway point for my clinical, so I decided it would be perfect.
there is more than one way to get to Atlanta. i chose the straighter shot, but which also traversed the mountains of North Carolina and northern Georgia. it was slower going, but it was beautiful. I could equate it to the eastern/Appalachian Mountain version of driving the small mountainous road through towns like Ouray and Montrose, Colorado. Curvy roads and mountain passes, broken up by cute small towns that are vacation spots for local citizens. Unfortunately, two massive thunderstorms hit during my drive and it took nearly 6 hours to reach my destination.
but once i was there....well what can I say? Un finde lleno de travesuras. I ate Cuban food, danced to Latin music, met a lot of new people with interesting and diverse backgrounds. i hit up both an H&M and a Trader Joes. it was exciting but at the same time odd to be in a big city again. staying out past midnight was a change since my move to SW Virginia. shoot, seeing asian people was a change since my move to SW Virginia. and after my weekend dose of cultural diversity and city night life, i returned to the mountains.
monday morning it was raining, and a heavy mist was moving across the valley. it reminded me of the book the Mists of Avalon. its a King Arthur tale from the perspective of Morgaine who is a priestess at Avalon that is shrouded in mists, only lifted by those who know how. There, you are cut off from the rest of the world and only have knowledge of the outside through dreamlike visions. and thats how i felt on monday. i had penetrated the mists again, and i was again cut off, living amongst a people who really don't have a grasp on what goes on on the outside. and when thinking back on atlanta, it seemed like a blur.
that being said, i do enjoy and appreciate the life here. its quieter, slower paced, the scenery is incredible. but i think my trip to Atlanta made me realize that, at least while i'm young and unattached, i yearn for the diversity and the excitement that a big city offers.