city mouse coughing

lately i've been feeling a little bit polluted by city living. maybe it's this cough that i can't seem to get rid of, but the air seems a little poisonous. i'm always breathing car exhaust of stale subway air or second-hand smoke. last weekend i came home friday and saturday feeling as if i'd smoked a carton of cigarettes. i think after i'm done here in madrid, my next home will be in the country somewhere.

i've been living in cities since 1999 and in a way it has seemed the only sensible place for a single girl to live. i love cities. i love walking everywhere, i love the plethora of social options. i love that any time of day or night there is something to do, even if it's just walking around under the street lights. i love the idea of a neighborhood and the simultaneous feelings of closeness and anonymity with the people around you. i love having an airport nearby.

yet i loved living in the country as well, i was never bored. granted, it was college and i was surrounded by people my own age in a town with plenty of cultural activities. also, at that point in my life i had only ever lived in the suburbs, so city life wasn't there for me to miss yet. i just worry that if i moved to the country -- back to new england for example -- i would be staring at the four walls every night with nothing to do. but at least i would have fresh air!

in the short term, i'm absolutely taking a day trip this weekend to somewhere outdoors and unpolluted by cars and smokers.