Is there a name for the category of places you lived in not very long but long enough to get to know them pretty well? That's Nashville for me. It's been two years (two years!) since I was here for my sabbatical year at Vanderbilt's Warren Center. We're here for a few days because oratorical animal is giving a humanities center lecture as part of their yearlong series on the presidential election. We're also visiting a couple of classes and - best part - getting to see friends. I was especially glad last night to spend some time catching up with my former "fellow fellows" from the Word and Image seminar.
I love coming back to Nashville because I know where stuff is. I know how to get around well enough not to need directions. But if I get lost I can also shake it off because hey, it's been a while, and I didn't live here that long. It's also nice because the folks hosting us don't have to cart us around or worry about whether we'll get lost on our way to campus.
Happily, Nashville hasn't changed much. Though things here did get a lot better when I discovered to my great delight that there's a Trader Joe's here now. Sorry I didn't have access to that when I was here, but, you know, we've got a lot of room in our trunk for nonperishables and I'm not afraid to shop...