Leaving

Well, I’ve left Bhutan. Yesterday was uneventful and I barely left my bed. I couldn’t eat anything besides a few bites here, a few bites there. I think I finished a banana once. I had to travel for over 40 hours the next day. Bring it on. I had a bit of energy to use before I slept, if I was lucky. I showered, almost fainting when I put in conditioner. Then my fears got to me, what if my father or stepmother had to peal me off the floor of the bathroom, naked, and figure out what to do with me? There was no way something that mortifying was going to happen. With more determination, I stumbled my way across the grass and made the five-minute walk to the hotel to get on the Internet for a bit. Probably wasn’t worth it.

A new morning starts and only a few bites of food to start the day, great. I could barely hold my head up as we drove to the airport. But as soon as I needed to get through security with three bags, and 10 kilos overweight, I rallied. I slipped into the seat right next to Diane and moments later we took off. I gazed over the land that had become home over the last few weeks. I was filled with sadness; I was leaving already. It seemed like it took an eternity, or a day. The time went by incredibly slowly, but it also passed in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, the feelings were forgotten quickly when a wave of nausea swept over me and the plane bounced and dipped through the air. My head pounded, bile rose to the back of my throat, and my chest cramped. Before I knew it, tires were screeching against asphalt. We couldn’t be there yet; it was at least a three-hour flight. No, I was crushed to find out we had only stopped in India to refuel. We were in India!? The country wasn’t as exciting as I had expected looking through a plane window. Frank Sinatra started playing when I was lying on the plane and I found it a bit odd. Then I heard, "Catch a falling and put in your pocket, never let it fade away. Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, save it for a rainy day." I had already caught a falling star during my travels. I pulled it out and let the light fall on me. My body felt lighter, as did my heart. We finally reached Bangkok, and the 100 degree air and 100% humidity hit me like a ton of bricks.

The rest was a blur. I got to Tokyo after a night in Bangkok and said my 'goodbye's' to John and Diane. They were off to Seattle while I was on my way to LA. My flight was delayed and I didn't end up getting to LA 2 hours later than scheduled. I was in LAX for 8 hours before I could find a flight to Salt Lake City. Of course, that flight was 40 minutes late, and I missed my flight in Salt Lake by 15 minutes. I sprinted from gate E to A and could barely hold myself together. When I found out I missed the last flight of the day and had to spend the night in Salt Lake, I started crying uncontrollably. I've made it all this way, only an hour's plane ride from my bed, and I couldn't do it. The airline lady didn't know what to do with me. I made my way to the lady's room in shame of my outburst. I didn't even have to energy to leave. I found a bench next to Internationally Security and tried to sleep under the fluorescent lights.

When I touched down in Hailey, I wasn't even excited. I was delirious.

60 hours of traveling and I was numb.