A Short Letter Home: Going home

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Going home

Flashback: Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006
Tuesday arrived and we all got up bright and early. After a relatively quick breakfast, the girls and I started school and Yau Neih started packing. I don't know what it was about our time in Kunming, but school was done with an efficiency we can't seem to manage back home. Anyway, we were done and ready to check out a bit after 11:00. Since nobody back in the States doubted our assessment of the situation, our boss came by to handle the check out and pay the bill and all that. We went to lunch, after arguing a bit about it. (I suppose we needed to vent the frustrations of the week somewhere.) We went back to the place we had dinner on Saturday night. They served up a very tasty chicken and cashew dish. (They apparently had a good cucumber dish, too, according to my daughter. I didn't care for it.) After that we killed time in the company office and then left for the airport.

Kunming traffic in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon is remarkably light. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare and checked in quickly. While I prepared myself for the security check--emptying my pockets and dumping the contents into my carry-on--the ladies took a peek in the gift shop in search of the elusive Wa minority doll. In all our browsing at the Bird & Flower Market, Ga Dai had not managed to see a doll representing the Wa and had suddenly developed a hankering for one. (Having been a collector of various things over the years, I know the feeling.) Thankfully, they did manage to find one and quickly snatched it up. It was a pleasant end to our exile.

The flight home was routine. Once landed, we grabbed our bags and hopped aboard the bus into town. I suppose I should have felt good as we rode back into town, but instead I felt a twinge of guilt. Like a rat returning to a ship that never quite sunk. I suppose if I had my way, I'd have toughed it out and then if the threat had been real, I could have patted myself on the back for being a good martyr while I lay sick in bed. Anyway, despite my own mental state, it was a pleasure to get home, even if the week turned out to be rather dull. Be it ever so humble...