Today I am wearing a shirt that I pulled out of my duffel bag. It is cool today in Colorado. Feels like Fall. So I chose a long-sleeved shirt I bought in Budapest, which I often wore to teach in. It doesn't fit me all that well, it was made for a teenage girl who likes to show off her mid-driff.. but I like it. It has flowy sleeves. Who doesn't like flowy sleeves?

As I do my receptionist thing today, answering phones, sending mail, etc in this accountant office that feels so separate from me and the person underneath this job title, my thoughts are not here, but in Csepel, where I know my students are starting school today. And I realized it is because of a smell.

This is a good smell, actually, not the bathroom-type that tends to intensify in higher temperatures. No, this is the sort of non-descript smell that creeped in. I didn't know it was happening, but have you ever noticed that the place you inhabit has a certain smell? You don't know when the smell started, or how much of it was already there. But today, I keep catching a wiff of my old detergent, and once and a while giving it a good sniff, and breathe deeply. Ah, Budapest, Csepel, my students, the hallway full of plants, the friendly secretaries, the intense espresso aroma of the office, the (generally) delightful disorganisation and high energy of my workplace. I miss that. There are some things I don't miss, but I miss my job. I miss my students. Oh, how wonderful if we could look back on all of our experiences with such fondness!