Though this is not nearly my longest stay in Thailand, this does feel like the longest. Perhaps that is because the recency of this trip biases myself against earlier visits, but the constant work and absence from Jet and Ben has made the time go by much slower. I am fortunate to have stayed at the Hua Mak campus this visit because it has allowed me to connect with old friends and make new ones as well. I doubt the same would have been possible had I lived at City Campus, which was planned until the crisis in Bangkok in April-May. At least I do have many accomplishments to claim for the sacrifices.
I have (nearly) finished teaching another two sections of MBA classes. I have made progress towards international partnerships that I hope will stick. I have two manuscripts out for review with another three in the works. I have attended church every day, with the exception of the 4 days that I was not in Bangkok. I have even done the first readings in over half of those services. I have lost anywhere from 15-20 pounds. And I am ready to return back to the US, energized to do so much more.
When we arrived, we spent the first two days in Hua Hin and enjoyed the beach. Last weekend, Jet, Ben, and several other family members went to Pattaya for two days to enjoy the beach. I doubt that I will forget the moment I saw Ben late on Friday night when I met up with everyone after my last class. Ben gave me such a strong hug around my neck and held me for literally two minutes. Though Ben was a naughty boy at times, for which I had to discipline him (timeouts), we had such a great time together. He hugged me and kissed me unprompted several times that felt so strange, but so needed. Maybe it was awkward because it had been so long (nearly 3 weeks) since I had seen him last. After all, we had spent hours in each others’ company every day since returning to Milwaukee.
When I arrived, the feeling I had was that I could almost sense a timer going off around me. Since I was only going to be here 30 days this time, I felt as if I would be always fighting against time and that I would not nearly have enough to do all I wanted to accomplish. Probably brought on by being away from Jet and Ben so long and not having the chance to visit Phitsanulok, that sense of time slipped away. I never did feel a countdown-like feeling (e.g., 2 weeks left, 1 week left, 4 days left, etc.) that I remember having the previous two years. In fact, it is hard to believe that I have only 2 days left. Perhaps it is because I have been so engaged with work that this has felt more like a business trip than a vacation, but it is an experience that I will learn from for my future visits returning to Thailand.
Our flight leaves at 11:55pm on Saturday night (11:55am Saturday in Milwaukee) and will arrive in Chicago (after a 2 hour layover in Narita) at 8:00am Sunday morning. Independence Day. Hopefully we will have plenty of time to rest and sleep on the flight over. We are bringing Jet’s mother back for one month with us, so that should ease the burden of keeping Ben entertained on the long flights. Then it is getting back to business and life-as-usual. Dad will pick us up from the airport. Sandy has a party scheduled later that day that I hope we will not be too exhausted to attend. Jet has Monday off from work to recover from jet-lag. Things will return back to normal again.
