The Good, the Bad, & the Adapted
/An adapter is a connector for joining parts or devices having different sizes, designs, etc., enabling them to be fitted or to work together. (Random House) In the taxi on the way to Barajas airport, I closed my eyes. Simply leaned my head back and rested, even though the scene out the window was beautiful – the sort of thing for which an American should keep her eyes open.
But one gets used to things.
Madrid is flat but there are always mountains and hills in the distance. And the color is this auburn orange dotted with Cyprus, olive, and dusty pine – colors that sit well under clouds that can’t decide which hue of grey to be.
It’s not something I’d ever think would become ordinary to me. But I’ve plugged my American self into a Spanish adapter, and such is the day to day – just like the more mundane things over the past year: Spanish keyboard, hanging laundry to dry, lunch after 2pm.
Acclimation cannot simply be a bad thing. We grow accustomed not only to the wondrous of life but also to the not so pleasant. This is particularly helpful in circumstances that we cannot change. For example, my grandmother, a painter, is losing her sight – an irreversible situation that calls for adjustment and acclimation. Useful adaptation.
Nevertheless, I’d like to choose when to adapt. I’d like to choose not to become blasé about the highlight reel. What does it mean that we, as human beings, are such good adapters that we steer our existence to the middle ground by making the beautiful ordinary and the ugly palatable?
These days, my life is filled with adapters. I’m talking now about those little electrical devices that I am always leaving behind – at the office, in hotels, on airplanes. My hairdryer is from Spain, my laptop from the US, and my phone from the UK. And, yes, I also live in constant anticipation that my appliances are going to explode at any given moment.
So, here’s a tip – to keep your computer and your self from browning out: Don’t leave items plugged in and unattended.
