1st day back in the west

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so after about two days straight of travelling by bus and plane, including a 7 hour layover in abu dhabi, i arrived in "The West", specifically ireland. i was greeted by a more than 2 hour wait in the immigration line; for some reason there was only one booth set up for non-EU passport holders and about 5 for EU passports, so we stood in line while flight after flight came in and all the EU people breezed on through while our line wound back and forth 4 times and out the door and down the hall.

i finally got in to the country and caught a bus 45 min to drogheda, where vanessa and shane live. at this point i was already feeling amazed! while in line i had been surrounded by every other unfortunate person flying in from abu dhabi who wasnt european, and many of them were muslim and/or SE asian. but once inside the country, ALMOST EVERYONE IS WHITE! this is amazing! it sounds a bit foolish, but i had forgotten how many different kinds of white people there could be, with different shaped faces and bodies, and i am not unusual looking any more.

it was actually a weird feeling, because while i am hyper-aware of everyone around me and how different this place is to where i just was, i blend in to other people more than i have in a long time. no one stares or waves at me just because i exist. where is the fame to which i've grown accustomed? why don't people on the street want to shake my hand? why does everyone speak english? where did all these white children and old people come from? i thought everyone was in their 20s and 30s! where is the rice, the smells, the sunburn, the buddhist temples, the taxis, tuk-tuks, becaks, mosquitos, and oppressive heat?

i've left asia and been transported to a place where the people are white, the sky is overcast, the grass is bright green, and dark grey catholic churches and stone walls and bits of old castles jut into the overexposed sky. and everything is so EXPENSIVE. i can remember arguing over the unfair price of a 12 hour bus ticket, just a few days ago, and i spent twice the money on lunch here.

it has been absolutely wonderful to see shane and vanessa, though. vanessa works long days and there is an annoyingly inconvenient bus schedule for her to get home, but she seems to enjoy her job. shane works at random times that i haven't figured out yet, but it is wonderful to see them when i can. also i hope to make a few trips around ireland to see some sights.

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