durham, north carolina

landed in north carolina on friday after a flight through all four US time zones, a little disoriented considering i also did not sleep the night before. there to greet me was the beautiful amy and her guy mike. it was so great to hug her! i love being welcomed by good friends!
we met up with matt and ate indian food, then moved on to a very cool coffee shop, francesca's (which happens to be where i am right now... ironically) and drank tea, ate cookies, and enjoyed each others' company. afterwards matt and i went back to his parents' house.... how beautiful!! surrounded by trees and gardens, a pond, and little outdoor kittens. their home is so welcoming and filled with love. his parents are amazing individuals, truly. they have all been so hospitable and welcoming and generous. i love them! and to be back on the east coast and amongst the green and trees and changes of autumn... ahhh, it is so nice.

on saturday amy and mike picked me up and we went to the state fair. what an experience! my goodness! southerners really go all out for their state fairs. this is no ohio berea fairgrounds deal.... this is southern culture at its finest. to begin with, it was HUGE, and there were so many people that you could barely move and constantly felt like you were being herded somewhere beyond your will. heavy southern accents amused me, mullet watch was in full force, and vendors sold everything deep fried. EVERYTHING. i am not kidding. here is an introductory list to what deep-fried foods were available (and this is the honest to god truth): deep-fried twinkies, deep-fried pb & j (yes, peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches... deep fried), deep-fried oreos, df'd candybars (reeses, 3 musketeers, etc), df'd cheeseburgers, df'd coca-cola (yes, its true), df'd cookie dough, df'd cobblers (peach , apple, cherry, etc), and more. i didn't eat any of it (except french fries... if those count), but mike tried almost everything as i watched in amazement. it was an unforgettable experience that sadly gave me a migraine later in the day (despite the fact that i had a great time).

we went to amy's house afterwards and looked at photo albums of her as a youngin'. cuter than hell. i loved it! then went out for middle-eastern food with her mother and stepfather.

my migraine took over at this point, and as matt and i were driving back to his house i threw up my falafel in his guilford college tote bag, and it tasted just as delicious coming back up... which made things slightly less unpleasant. crashed in bed promptly upon arrival at the homestead, and slept the headache off. feel awesome and rejuvenated now!

on sunday, matt and i just hung out around the house, talked, played ddr, did tai chi, meditated, and eventually watched clash of the titans before going to sleep. a good day indeed!