Aren't endings supposed to feel monumental? I guess I should know by now that they hardly ever are; it's just that I think this whole leaving business would be a lot easier and more conclusive feeling with the assistance of some cosmic indicator emphasizing the finality of my departure from Vietnam in just under two weeks. With no harbingers in sight,I'll admit that it is hard to keep in mind that I won't be here forever, that my days with my new friends that I love so dearly are numbered, that I will soon have to journey farther than down two flights of stairs to enjoy delicious home cooked Vietnamese meals. For how foreign and wild Vietnam remains to be even after studying here for a little over three months, my life in Danang feels normal and I am happy.
Really happy. Am I a heathen daughter/sister/friend/girlfriend/niece/cousin in my reluctance to return to all that is waiting for me at home, all that is
supposed to feel normal?
I don't mean to imply that I want to stay here forever. I miss my mom, my dad, my step mom, my sisters (one of whom obtained at great lengths a visa from the Ecuadorian government and will, if all goes according to plan, be home for x-mas! a single exclamation point hardly does this exciting news justice!!!), and my friends. I want to pet my cats. For how itchy and claustrophobic it sometimes makes me, I miss New Paltz too. I even miss New Paltz in the wintertime, which is saying a lot. In light of my missings, I still can't shake this feeling: I want to leave sometime, just not yet.
Below are some pictures of people and places that make it hard to contemplate heading home!
I mean, really, who would want to leave cute faces like this. And CAKE!
Mom and her kid
Riverside at Han River
really, there should be a post long trip abroad therapy. i´m not even kidding when i say i suffered post traumatic stress disorder after coming home.
ReplyDeleteBUT the nice thing is that new paltz, for all its itchy claustrophobia, is a good place with good people.
!!!!!!!
these are all the exclamation points for having three jordan girls in the house.
Kate! We missed you (and Nan) yesterday! We'll see all three of you in a month!
ReplyDeleteHey --
ReplyDeleteI found your blog posted on the New Paltz Sociology Department facebook group. Your blog and trip look really awesome!
I am a former CHS student from New Paltz and I went to a lecture on Vietnam recently, so it was nice to come across your blog. :)
Hope all is well!
ah, that's awesome--i hope you enjoyed the lecture and that you have the opportunity to visit this wonderful country sometime in the future! thanks for taking the time to check out my blog :]
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see you at home.
ReplyDeleteDaddy