A few months in the past and his response would have been lukewarm. He was here, and he resolved from the beginning to make the best of it while he was. That didn't mean he felt like his time was better spent here - not at first, anyway. As the year went on, maybe his opinion changed.

"I am," he responded, with not a shred of doubt. "It's a strange place at times, but I've grown to appreciate it." He only realized in that moment how his outlook changed.