A play by play confessional of re-establishing myself among ‘Ah ‘merca’, post-World Race.
Day 1 – Continued…
7:21 a.m. – After the realization that the TV in our hotel room has English speaking channels, it turns out the remote control is in fact smarter than me.
Final Debrief should include a session on operating household electrical appliances. Lord help me when I encounter my first dishwasher.
7:24 a.m. – Sami figured out the remote. We are having a ‘moment’ after having minimal interest in U.S. news, but when we come across a channel showing a documentary about mass feedings in an African village, we can not pull our eyes away from the screen. Before I realized what I said, the words, ‘Look Sami – home!’ have left my mouth.
Relevance has shifted.
10:26 a.m. – Leave hotel to walk to the grocery store to buy a pre-paid cell phone. First time I am embarking on an outting alone in 11 months. I find myself more concerned for my safety and am harrassed more times during this venture than when hitchhiking through Africa.
1:40 p.m. – Say final goodbyes to Racing community, depart hotel for L.A. Union train station. It still does not feel real. Not sure what day detachment will set in.
3:25 p.m.
– It’s starting to set in. I have been alone for a mere two hours and am absolved in tears in a pile of my luggage. Bought a train ticket to discover five minutes later that my train is canceled, they will not give me a refund and the only train to San Diego costs 3x as much as I had budgeted and involves a transfer from bus rides to connecting train stations.I really want to, and know I need to cry (now that I am properly hydrated), but don’t have time to continue. I have to find the new ticket line and communicate like a sane human being before I miss the train.
5:49 p.m. – Happy at a window seat in the sun, bound for San Diego, praising God for the glory of His creation as it passes by outside.
Day 2
9:30 a.m. – Wake up for the first time in 11 months without any of these people near me.
my tribe.
Instantly I am saddened. I take the next half hour to pray over them and the transition it will be for me to get used to this.
Instantly I am saddened. I take the next half hour to pray over them and the transition it will be for me to get used to this.
12:30 p.m. – Walking along Mission Beach boardwalk. Over-stimulated. It’s Memorial Day and the entire population of San Diego happens to be here with me. Girls are not in one-piece bathing suits.
It feels like everyone is looking only at me as I attempt to navigate my way through throngs of beach cruisers, skate boarders and pedestrians. Clad in a bikini, cut-offs and serenity, I realize they’re all probably not staring at me. I’m just not used to seeing this many white people in one given area and it’s making me paranoid.
Wondering when the transition came where I feel more at ease around people that look and sound nothing like me…
1:30 p.m. – Shoveling sand to create this:
Each time I scoop a new shovel full, I am reminded of the trench we dug in the Dominican Republic during month 1 to prevent an impoverished slum from flooding, the trash hole we began work on in Haiti to provide a proper place for trash disposal for the orphanage we lived in.
The starfish was a ball to help create, but my mind is consumed with the people I met around the world exerting their strength to survive versus entertain. I give thanks to God for where He has me and prayer for their provision.
