Return to the Familiar?

Bus from the Nujiang (Salween) river to Kunming. Fly to Guanzhou. Fly to LA. Sleep in hotel 3 hours. Fly to Seattle. Fly to Spokane. Drive to Missoula. Sleep 10 hours (ahhh). Drive to Wilson. Rest 5 days and then begin again.

The days of travel back to the states weren’t really days so much as one long stretch of hours devoted solely to waiting, rushing, hauling, loading, explaining, sleeping, eating and driving. Distinction between day and night blurred since sleep found us when it could squeeze in a few hours of our time. Yet it all seemed to pass smoothly without any major glitches, adding to the long list of moments of complete bewilderment of how everything always works out.

Waiting for me at the LA airport were two of my favorite Aunts. Riding to the hotel in Aunt Jo’s shiny red truck, I felt like royalty. Passing my students and fellow teachers struggling to load bags and boats onto the hotel shuttle, I dined on homemade banana bars. At the hotel we shared stories, attempting to catch up from the many years since our last visit. I came to found they would embark on a new adventure, a cruise around the tip of South America in a few days. I happily carry on the Hollingsworth lust for exploration and travel, my aunts being highly practiced in this art form.

The frenzy of movement and returning students to their smiling parents ended when I sat back down in my mobile home, my Forrester. During the next seven hours en route to Wyoming I slowly felt a sense of familiarity. Hearing English speakers at the airport, seeing fast food restaurants in LA, even using a clean bathroom all still felt awkward to me. Is this where I’m from? I’m not sure. I realize that China’s reality grew on me and became my own after my seven weeks. Thus, sights are set on a return to this altered normalcy. For now however, I will belt my music, soak in the snowy mountain landscape and plot my next adventure.