Berkeley/San Francisco trip with Madeline!

Katie D.

September 18, 2011 - 7:06 PM

This summer away has meant missing out on a lot of the things I do in my normal university life. Now, in this last week before classes start again, I took the weekend and headed south for a weekend with my best friend, Madeline, in Berkeley. She's launched her post-UO life by working at a law firm here, and has settled into a new city and new job in an amazing way. It's been a great weekend, and has made me so excited for things to kick off with my new year as well.

I took the train from Eugene to Berkeley. I love traveling by train, and am so happy to be living in a region where train travel is possible. I left Eugene Thursday night, and had a lovely trip (except for an unfortunate bout of food poisoning of unknown origins, which meant I did an alarming amount of throwing up. Otherwise the trip was lovely.) On Friday I visited Madeline's workplace, met her coworkers, and then spent a day wandering around Berkeley. Saturday we hit San Francisco, and today we're relaxing and catching up on the three months since the last time we were together.

The whole trip has been so much fun. We spent lots of time in farmers markets and craft fairs, witnessing some of the unique culture around here. The people-watching is amazing and very funky, and San Francisco is even funnier. There seem to be an extraordinary number of young people here, which gives a city a great vibe.

My favorite part of this trip has been witnessing how Madeline has fit into a new phase of life as a working woman and an independent young person. She has truly launched since graduating, and has fit herself beautifully into a life which now involves attorneys and legal proceedings and a city far removed from Eugene life. She's really happy here, which is really inspiring and exciting. Some of my friends have had a really hard time transitioning between college and real life, especially in the current economic situation. But Madeline is doing great by any measure: she has really fun friends, likes her coworkers, lives in a cool place, and loves the community here in Berkeley. She also found a job that is relevant to her previous experience, and has taken her forward in an exciting new direction that could lead her into a law degree, or into some different professional field.

I hope I can do as well when I graduate next spring.

Starting this week, things are going to start to get busy in Eugene. I've registered for classes, and need to start buying books and doing all the preparation that goes into that first week of school. This week we're also hitting the ground running for Sister Helen Prejean's return to the UO in October. This will be her third visit that I have been involved with, and I am thrilled to see her again and to be looking forward to repeating our past successes. This is going to be a big year.

So I'm excited to have had this brief moment with my friend, before the madness of the school year begins again. We had a chance to sample farmers market produce, and to sit for an hour at a wine and cheese bar. I have eaten amazing food while visiting here, including delicious spaghetti and a slice of pizza from the famous Cheese Board. I think I've fallen in love with Berkeley, at least a little. And I am certainly grateful for this time with my best friend.

I can only hope that next year at this time I'll be as launched as she is now.