My first flight to Asia

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After an emotionally thoughtful and bittersweet ride to the airport, Jason parked his car near Terminal C. We moved as one pulling the luggage out of the car and made our way to the gate, carefully avoiding any negative feelings that might arise. Fourteen months apart will be hard¹, but neither can deny how outstanding it feels to know that when this adventure concludes, the adventure we had both spent our lives searching for would finally unfold. I am coming home. Finally, finally,home. When I come home, we will be together forever.

At the baggage register, a classic Michelle moment: I had forgotten to weigh my bag. Classic Jason moment: he paid for it without batting an eye. We embraced at the security line, saving up for our first few months apart. It feels oddly easy to leave, knowing so well that nothing can come between us. I may not always see you or hear you, or be able to touch you, but you are there and I am no longer lost.

I got to the airport so early that I had time to leave my guitar and purse with a young couple from my flight and cruise around peacefully for over an hour, eating and enjoying a breathtaking sunset over Manhattan. I called Jason and prolonged our relaxing goodbye, while priming us for the long-haul of phone-only communication. It was a perfectly lovely chat, and left me smiling.

The next 35 or so hours went by just like an old locomotive across the American plains, stopping briefly in the necessary cities and moving across great distances at every stretch. Three flights: one four hour, one twelve hour, one six hour flight. My goal was to catnap whenever possible and then sleep a normal night upon my late-night arrival in Ban Phe, treating those 35 hours like an extra long, tiring day with much needed sleep at the end.

On the two shorter flights, I refrained from talking to my neighbors until the end of the voyage, opting instead to just keep to myself for once. As it happens, both men were perfectly lovely people and I wished I had begun conversation sooner. After the first flight, in Denver airport, I had only 40 minutes to get to my next plane and find something to snack on. I could not believe my luck when I stumbled on an Udi's Cafe! My gluten-free heart soared, and I walked away with a quinoa hazelnut cranberry salad and a blueberry muffin. They were both delicious, with exception of the onions in the salad. I called Jason again to marvel at my fortune while stuffing my face and waiting for the boarding line to dwindle down.

On this flight, the longest at 12 hours, I met Heather, who was also on her way to Bangkok, but she was headed north for a two month stint as a volunteer at an Elephant sanctuary. Like many of my fast friends in this world, she is a Sagittarius. We talked at the beginning, then again at meals, and at the end, and spent the layover together in Tokyo where she rested and I wandered around in vain looking for a light meal. It was very pleasant having her to talk to, and we plan to keep each other updated throughout our journeys. The flight was delayed, and it worried both of us because we both knew we had to meet drivers at the other end.

I feel the need to say that I am not a patient woman. Long flights, iffy foods, difficulty finding things, overpaying for luggage, delays, and inescapable discomfort are on my list of disastrous ingredients for any long day. This 35 hour day was no exception, and I was completely shocked afterwards to see the aplomb with which I met all of these ordinarily frustrating situations. I retrospect, I attribute this entirely to the piece of mind I gain from my relationship with Jason². I just walked around like a happy dog, taking everything in stride, knowing that and the end of the day I am safe and loved.

Heather and I boarded the flight to Bangkok together and ended up on opposite sides of the huge three-row jet, and I saw her make a fast friend there, too. He is a Southerner from the American south and lives in Bangkok, so he led us through the airport and helped us ask questions about wifi. Heather needed her phone to be set up before leaving the airport, but I just needed to use the internet to read the email containing meet-up information from Bert. After a few minutes of being annoyed because my phone's browser couldn't interpret the programming on the sign-in page for the free wifi, I just checked my email in offline mode and it loaded perfectly. Ego check on my nerd-brain. Bert was one floor up next to the elevator by Starbucks. I said goodbye to Heather and thank you to her friend, and pressed the elevator button that would be the official start of my Thai adventure.

1This narrative isn't about my relationship with Jason, per se, but it's so integrated into my experience here that I am happy to give as many details as I see fit!



2Deal with it. <3

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