Back Stateside

Well, the nice people at US immigration decided to let me back in the country and so now I am home again.  I left about 3:30am Bangkok time after about 20 minutes of sleep for the previous 24 hours…really, who needs sleep.  My taxi driver was a man that many of Nina and Scott’s friends use and he was very sweet.  He asked me when I would be returning to Bangkok and I answered jokingly “When I have money again”, not sure if that answer didn’t satisfy him or his English was limited but he asked me the same question two more times.  Feeling too tired to be witty I stubbornly clung to my same answer which elicited big grins.

When I arrived at the airport he got out and gave me a big hug and told me that he loved me…hmmm…again not sure if this was a cultural difference or my aura is more powerful then I thought.  I pushed my bags in and dropped them three times while the airport staff and police officers looked on with big grins and thumbs up.  Each time I dropped my bags there were bigger grins and more emphatic thumbs up.  I got through ticketing and headed onto immigration which I found three lines of 50 plus people…yes, this is about 4am.  The Thai worker than directed me to go to the diplomat/official passport line of which there were about three people.  I trudged over and felt a bit embarrassed to have bypassed all of these other people waiting, I looked and saw the wheelchair guy sign and realized that this line was for people with disabilities.  I felt a little sheepish but not enough to go back to the other line…my experiece with the Thais this trip was much different than the last time, I found them all to be quite kind and helpful.  Who knows, maybe word of my celebrity spread from India across Asia or more realistically I was in a more positive and open mind frame 

I was escorted onto the plane first and settled in for another 24 hours of traveling.  The flights actually seemed to go by quickly, after a few 12 plus hour train rides in India, I learned how to be a bit more mellow when traveling.  I arrived in Portland and my friends picked me up and off we went to a coffee shop because thats what you do in Portland.  Vanity was a luxury I let go after about two days in India and I didn’t give much thought to my appearance.  As I stood there in my sweats, hair a mess, no makeup and smelling a little like I hadn’t showered in 24 hours I looked around the coffee shop and noticed that I actually didn’t look much different than the other folks in the coffee shop.  Gotta love a city where you can come right off a 24 hour international flight and blend in with everyone

There have been a few moments where its a little weird to be home, I find myself forgetting the routines that were so entrenched before I left.  I had a luxurious morning drinking amazing local coffee and perusing my usual news sites.  What a thrill to take a shower and feel clean and smelling nice.  And of course the highlight of being back is catching up with all of the people I love here.  I called my Mom when I arrived in Seattle to assure her that I had safely returned to American soil.

So, my trip abroad is not what I would call a typical travel experience for an American.  As I read some of my blog entries its so amazing to me that I was the person who experienced all of this.  I left India without seeing a single temple, most of my pictures are not of buildings and scenery but of people(partly because when I would try to take pictures, 30 plus folks would gather around and block my view) and I didn’t learn anything about my biological family.  I did however learn a whole lot about myself, the incredible love and generosity of the Indian and Thai people and added a few more people who will be my friends for life.  Could I ask for anything better?

This trip would not have been possible without the loving support that you all gave me.  It was so wonderful to come back after a physically and often emotionally exhausting day in India and hear encouraging words from all of you.  Thank you so much for coming along my journey with me, I hope that it was as enjoyable for you to read as it was for me to write.  Now I need to be productive again and find a job…but who knows what or when my next adventure will be…stay posted!!