(sorry! i meant to post this when i got home!)
so, i’m heading home. my impression of returns is that they always go more smoothly than the trip there. the flight from jozi was a breeze. i forgot to check what seat i was in before i left, but as fate would have it, it was the first row of seats in economy (leg room AND no invading seat in front of me) on the right, with no accompanying passenger. i even managed some sleep!
now, i’m sitting in heathrow next to this older scottish couple, eating a crunchie, and waiting for the display screen to tell me my gate. british accents are so much more amusing in person than on tv. i am such an accomplished world traveller.
i’m getting the impression that i’m not going back. i’m also getting the impression that i’m not even going to the d.c. meetings. the ‘goodbyes’ compared to the ‘see you next tuesdays’ subtle and slightly off enough for me. emailing bossman seems to be in order.
i’m not really upset; i’m not really even disappointed. probably before, but not now. i know deep down that i’m not interested enough in this to make some careery type move on it. constance has been an excellent person to talk to. if anything, i’m glad going for the opportunity to meet her. she always asks the right questions in a non-invasive way. in the past year, it’s been hard to talk about ‘CAREER.’ it’s such a looming and foreboding word to me, enough to bring me to tears just thinking about it. i make a lot of excuses (no no, i do). constance is an attorney. it could’ve gone either way but i’m glad it went the way of catharsis.
she kind of immediately noticed that i like food stuff (do i really talk about food that much?) and asked me early in the trip why i haven’t pursued that. i vaguely responded something about how i wanted to ‘help people.’ she gave this indirect scoff/smirk and said, ‘oh, that will come–you should just follow your passions otherwise you’ll just be miserable’ (maybe not a direct quote but that was the sentiment). we’ve had similar conversations here and there in-between chats about how weird our colleagues are and storytelling.
my gate’s coming up. obviously, i have some thinking to do, but i don’t feel all that stressed about it. i’m at peace.
see y’all stateside–good lord i’m excited to go home.
Will we see you while you’re stateside? Let us know! –Chris (of Chris and Rebecca)
By: Chris & Rebecca on December 14, 2011
at 3:38 am
Hey Molly,
I know my comment to this post is super late! I know you are already back in the states which is great news! I’m glad to hear that your flight back when off without a hitch. Though, i am slightly disappointed that you did not bring me the gift I requested…*cough* hot man *cough*. But that is ok, i hope you at least have some chocolate for me! = P . And I love English accents, just fyi. = P.
I’m glad that, even if this experience ends up being shorter than you expected, that you learned so much. Career is scary but you should look at it more like…finding sometime you love. And i think you and food are a perfect match! You are always so creative with your dishes! I could totally see you owning your own restaurant one day or even designing menus! OR better yet, I could totally see you being on a cooking show!
Anyway, let me know how things are going and if you will be leaving again.
Glad to have you back!
- Liz
By: Liz on December 16, 2011
at 2:42 am
Belated comment on this post, but: I totally agree!!, you should do something food related!! And it could both be food-related and help people. Totally possible. Like, there’s this one restaurant in Vietnam (or: Cambodia? hmm) that takes children off the street, gives them an education, and also trains them to work in the affiliated restaurant, thereby giving them practical skills training as well. If you’re interested I can re-find out what it is.
(shhhh don’t ask me about my “career” either… scary scary.)
By: ibuibulai on December 25, 2011
at 4:22 pm