Homeward Bound

The day started at 4:30am Tuesday. I guess my body felt I needed to hurry up and wait. So I got up and immediately see a massive brown spider crawl into my bedroom from the window. Oh yeah…this trip needs to happen...I spend the next 30 minutes spraying dark areas around my room with Mortein and leave the light on because he’s a nocturnal beast and I’m not going to make life comfortable for him.
As I do my morning rituals of boiling water to wash my face, make some coffee, and heat up the lemon oatmeal bread I made the night before for breakfast, I think about the next 24 hours. I sit hoping my flights leave despite all the mess with cancellations because of volcanoes and missing plane parts. I tried to forget the day before when the booking agent emailed me a flight itinerary for Shannon Chantry, who was only going to Los Angles and returning to Tonga…on the wrong dates. The domestic flights from island to island, I’ve already explained before, there’s little reason to be concerned with the name on the ticket because they never need to know if it’s really you or not. In fact, I don’t think my name has ever been correct on a domestic flight here, but I’m pretty sure these are details that call for delays in international travel. But I tell myself it’s fine, it’s taken care of, it’s over, it’s sorted, it’s…raining…oh god let the flight go.
I wrote my final journal entry, completing my second journal in Tonga, so I’ve packed my notebook because I can already tell that there are going to be noteworthy events today. I start to think about the differences I’m experiencing leaving my house in Tonga for a trip, compared to leaving my apartment in America for a vacation. In America I might worry that I left a light on, here the electricity is going to be cut off. In America I may hope that the water isn’t running or leaking anywhere…ha yeah, like water ever comes out of my pipes here. In America you might hope that someone doesn’t break into your house, and here…fine, break in, steal the entire stock of nothing that I have, and take all the spiders and rats with you while you’re at it.
And as I think, I realize how little I have to worry about while I’m gone. I really don’t have anything of value that could go missing, no bills to worry about not being paid, the most I’ve thought about in regards to what I might come back to is obscene amounts of rat poop and creepy crawlies. It’s kind of nice actually to be leaving for such a long amount of time and not really have to worry about anything of real importance. It’ll be here when I get back, and if it’s not, it’s someone else’s responsibility to put me somewhere else. Bases covered. These are all the thoughts I’ve had before the sun even rises. Speaking of that…it’s not even 6:30! For the love of Pete and Sue this is going to be the longest day ever…
As the morning drags on, it starts to look like it will be a sunny and clear day. But it’s still hours and hours before I’m meant to go. I’ll call the domestic Airline to make sure the flights are going…yes I feel that this extreme paranoia and caution is most definitely called for at this point. Too many people have put efforts into me having this flight, and damn it, I want to go! Alright, Airline guy says we’re good to go at 4:10, check in at 3pm, this is good. Good. Maybe I should go for a walk or something, it isn’t healthy sitting in anticipation all day, or at least it doesn’t sound great for mental stability. Besides, at this point there’s still over 5 hours before I even go to the airport to check in. Then more waiting…yeah a walk is probably a good idea.
I eventually made it to the airport, then onto Air Zealand, otherwise known as the Disneyland in the sky…there were televisions in the seats, with dozens of movies, shows, games, it was unreal! Plus the free food and booze made the 12 hours go by pretty well. Unfortunately the pampered AirNZ flight made my flights to Phoenix and Indianapolis seem like bamboo shoots under the fingernails.