Do you think Frankie was ever committed to the idea of going to New York? Do you think she is "home" for good?

How does Frankie's experience on the Amtrak train act as a catalyst for her decision to turn around? Do you think she was ever committed to the idea of going to New York? Do you think she is "home" for good?

Frankie used the Amtrak problem as rationale for not going to New York. She didn't really want to work in the corporate office of her charity. She needs to decide what really will make her satisfied--not sure she can ever be happy.

Frankie doesn't want to accept the fact that life in a small town can be enough. So she lives with one foot home and one foot in New York. Neither place is is really fulfilling to her.

I don't think Frankie was really committed to the idea of going to New York. I have to wonder if Frankie will ever really feel 'at home' anywhere.

It is hard to see. Frankie ever finding a place where she is satisfied to stay unless she learns to be satisfied with herself. To me, her seeming need for perfection in place, job, or lover is a reflection of her dissatisfaction with her own self. New York was just one more try for for a place where she could find happiness. But she seems to push away each chance for love and happiness.

I have to agree with Lisa in that I, also, don't think that Frankie will feel at home anywhere. She seemed to be out of touch with "real life" so much of the time. So much of her early life was spent moving around that I don't think she has a clear definition of what home is. Her mother's dissatisfaction with that life confirms that belief for me. It also leads to the question, what is home. I think the answer is different for every one of us and it varies with what each individual values. In Frankie's case, I think she was searching for the answer.

No, I think that would be an impossible adjustment after Africa. Guess I'm an optimist. I hope she and Bud can support each other and find happiness.

Frankie felt obligated to feel committed to New York but her heart was not in it.

I think she used going to NY as an excuse to get away from Bud and the town. She never seemed to be comfortable in her skin.

I think Frankie just saw New York as an easy solution, as she'd have a job and a place to land without going back to Africa, but she had no real commitment to the idea of living in New York. In order for Frankie to feel she is at home anywhere, she has to come to terms with herself and get comfortable in her own skin.

No, not particularly. New York was just the most logical place to go next, where she might find a job that had a connection with her work in Africa, (IF she wasn't going to go back to Africa). Frankie was so unsure of what she did want. I don't think she ever really found that out.