The diesel engine started with a lazy growl. Bags packed to the brim, necks adorned with
shell necklaces, the last equatorial sun streaming through the windows of the
van.
This is it. We are
going home.
Rolling slowly through the potholes of our little road
tugged memories from my mind. All those
evenings running to the ocean, dodging the same puddles in hopes to catch the
last of the sunset. Or the night we went
spearfishing, and came back toting our trophies for all the neighbors to
see. Or the local feast that left us so
stuffed that we could barely walked down that road back to our house. Or the time walking back from the water under
the full moonlight, thinking to myself that I may never see beauty such as this
again, with the palm fronds glazed in silver silhouettes against the deep dark
ocean sky.
The van jostled as we rolled over the speed bumps by the
church. I waved to Kun and Nelly Sonia
as we passed their house. I watched as
houses flew past on the way to the airport.
People kept to their daily lives, sweeping breadfruit leaves and frying
fish over outdoor fires. I looked up at
Mount Matunte, the mountain that almost claimed my dad. It stood ominous yet beautiful, its green
jungle slopes bathing in the morning sun.
We bumped across the rusty bridge that crosses the channel to the
airport, and I thought about the dozens of times we would come out here to cool
off after a hot day of teaching. I
thought about the kids playing with us and jumping off with us- being friends with
us.
We pulled up to the small, open-air airport. I felt numb, like this wasn’t actually
happening. I wanted to feel sad, but as I let my feelings adjust, I felt strangely fulfilled.
And feeling fulfilled is about the best feeling I could ask
for after a year like this.
Pastor Tara sat wordless with us for a while. We both knew it was time to go.
“Boys…..,” his words trailed off a little. “Thank you.”
“We shared one last handshake with the man that had taken
care of us the whole year, the man that deserved so much more but never asked
for an ounce of it.
I didn’t know what to say.
“Pastor…thank YOU,” I replied.
“We will meet again someday.”
He smiled and patted us on the shoulders. As he left, it was as if Kosrae left with
him. Everything from then on was a
blur. Plane landing, random security
search, tight seating, dry airplane air, takeoff, blue ocean and green island
getting smaller and smaller and smaller and then clouds. Sleep, iPod, John Mayer, stops at Ebeye and Majuro,
complimentary drinks, and then Honolulu at 2:30 AM with escalators and
Americans and Starbucks and Burger King and roads with lanes and lots and lots
and lots of people.
Home awaits me now, along with everyone I love and care
for. I am excited beyond words to fall
back into the life I know, to finally be with all those that I have missed so
much.
But something will be different now. Amid this cluttered and busy mind that will
soon be taken over by ruthless nursing school and jobs and life itself, there
will always be a little corner that is a little warmer and maybe a bit humid,
with a sandy beach and a palm tree overhanging the blue water.
And I know that I can go there anytime in my mind and remember-
The strength that I once gained,
The beauty that once filled me,
and the Love that I once experienced on
the little
42 square-mile island of Kosrae, Micronesia.
Peace from the United States of America,
River
p.s. Thank you for
joining with me in this journey to Kosrae. Its about time I wrap up this blog, but it has been a crazy adventure and I had a fun time trying my best to document it. If you are curious about any other adventures or stories or want to see more
pictures, I would be more than happy to talk!
I will always be anxious to share this adventure; and what an adventure
it was.
Good morning how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because trough them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately it’s impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this I would ask you one small favor:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Micronesia? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Micronesia in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Avenida Juan de la Cierva, 44
28902 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez