I've had that song stuck in my head for 2 days now and I can't find the CD. So if you're hiding it, fess up. It's driving me nuts.
I'm HOME!!! Back in the States, back in my own room, in my own bed, with my books and my music and my food.
...and hot water, and chocolate and coffee and pizza and grass and... well anyway, it's good to be home.
I spent the last few days in Hambantota being sick and a bit miserable. I wasn't really sick, but I had an annoying combination of exhaustion, a sore throat, and a stuffed up nose that didn't do much for my disposition. I just wanted sleep, but it was not to be had. Friday night I had plans to stay up and finish up our projects for CRC and YEF (no they're not done. It's a long and bitter story).
So Friday night saw B., Meg, and myself burning through the night trying to get the website done. We had a plan to get our work done at the office and then Meg and I would head to G.'s house to sleep. Great plan in theory.
In practice, we modified it a bit. By about 2 in the morning, B. had passed out. Meg was doing photoshop stuff that required my laptop. Meanwhile, I was trying to finish up the YEF/YPF brochures, which meant I needed either my laptop or the desktop computers. So Meg decided she wanted to take my laptop and head to G.'s house to work there. I know myself pretty well, and at 2 am, it's not likely I'll get any work done if I'm curled up in bed with a laptop. We agreed that it would be best if Meg headed for G.'s and I stuck around the office.
G.'s house is a very pleasant walk from the office, and at 2 in the morning, the temperature is nice and there aren't many people around. So I was quite content to let Meg find her own way there. And neither of us felt it necessary to wake up B. to appraise him of events. Meg snuck out the front door and was almost out of sight when B. woke up and started shining the flashlight around, looking for Meg. He'd heard her leave and it had taken him a few minutes to wake up. I smiled as I saw her disappear into the trees. B. totally missed it. And so began a debate that, I feel, was fairly symbolic of all 10 weeks here. The following is a close approximation.
"She left?!"
"Yes, she went to G.'s house. She'll be fine."
"I must go find her."
"Don't worry about it. She's ok."
"But something might happen."
"If I thought something would happen, I wouldn't have let her go."
"She is a helpless American girl. She could get into trouble."
"A little trouble would do her good. Leave it alone."
...and so on. I finally convinced B. that the world would not end if Meg walked home by herself, and we spent the next 2 hours ostensibly doing work and mostly goofing off and talking. It was great. Until the phone rang.
Now at this point, just to set the scene, it was about 4 in the morning. There aren't many reasons to be calling an office at 4 in the morning. And there aren't many people who would bother. So I spent a precious few seconds trying to imagine why on earth Meg would feel the need to call at that hour.
I have to say that I had not considered the possibility that she hadn't made it to G.'s house. She had left hours ago. It's a 20 minute walk and we've both done it many times before. But it was dark, and although Meg had a flashlight, it wasn't doing a whole lot against Sri Lankan night. There aren't outside lights or street lights here, so it gets DARK.
It sounded to me like Meg was actually at the house and just didn't recognize it, so I told her to go back and check once more, and call back. She went off to explore, I hung up, and turned around to face B., who had heard my side of the conversation and was now terrified all over again.
"I should go find her."
"She'll call back in 10 minutes. She's at the house. Don't worry."
"I should call G."
"She already tried. G. isn't picking up."
"I'll try the house phone."
"GAH! What?! No, don't do that. Meg will call in 10 minutes. Just relax."
Fortunately, Meg did call back 10 minutes later to say that she'd found the house and everything was fine.
More later...
1 comment:
Post a Comment