Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Around the World and Back

I have survived. I have returned from a three-week round-trip from Indonesia to Colorado and back to Indonesia, with my 13-month-old son, Evan in tow. I enjoyed getting to be at my brother’s wedding and spend time with other family. As always, it was hard to leave family, not knowing how many years it will be before I see them again. But it is so good to be back with Brad, and back home.

I met some interesting people during the trip that took one very long day (due to the time difference) to get to the States (stopping in four countries) and three (or four depending on how you look at it) long days to return to Indonesia. On the way there, I sat next to a German woman who was returning to her home in the States after visiting her new grandbaby in Singapore. Her grandbaby was born at the same hospital as Evan. And this woman lives just a few miles from my parents’ house in Colorado Springs. She was very sweet, helpful and patient with my restless, sometimes fussy toddler.

On the way back to Indonesia, I sat next to a family from Kashmir, who lives in the Los Angeles (2 or their 3 kids were born in the States). They were on their way to Kashmir to visit family. The 9-year-old girl who sat next to me was so patient with Evan, playing with him, sharing her chocolate with him and talking to me to pass the time.

And one of the flight attendants with Singapore Airlines helped me get my bags from baggage claim in the Jakarta airport (I switched airlines to an Indonesian-based airline) and even gave me a ride in her car between the international terminal and the domestic terminal. I couldn’t believe she was so helpful after working such a long flight. But that kindness is so typical of Indonesians.

While waiting for several hours in the Jakarta airport, I chatted with an Indonesian journalist who works for a national newspaper based in Jakarta. She had just met with the Indonesian president a couple of days (he just won the reelection). She had many tales to share with me.

(By the way, as an aside, I just saw a cow walking along the street outside my window as I am writing.)

And of course, I spent plenty of time chatting to, and playing with, and reading to, and holding, and feeding, and holding, and walking with, and singing to, and making faces at little Evan.

I loved seeing him see his daddy for the first time in three weeks. So cute! And he’s spent the last couple of days crawling all around to his heart’s delight.

It’s good to be home again.

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