Homecoming pt 1

h o m e c o m i n g
part 1

to be continued...
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ATTENTION!
Again, just to let you guys know that this post is slightly different from any other posts you'll find in this blog. It's rather writings-heavy. So if you're not really into long texts or can't stand of reading a great deal of writings, simply skip it and wait till I finish all the parts. But for those who are curious enough and will to read it, you are more than welcome to do so. Enjoy!

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As promised, I'm finally, ultimately posting the story of my very first time going abroad all by myself (not really though, maybe it's better to say it “going abroad without parents”). Unfortunately, there would be no pictures posted as I couldn't get myself a chance to take them on my journey (apparently, I'm too occupied with handling the immigration form, passport, watching over my stuff, etc). But still, this experience left me with such an impression that I won't forget, thus I promise myself I'll write about it someday...and I guess today's the day!

If you guys are wondering, this story is a continuity of this post, which you can tell that it's set exactly a day before my departure. But anyway, let me just get this started. So the morning after the crazy sleepover night spent with Aymee, Terry, and Elda, I went to the campus again with Terry. It looked like Terry had something to do at the library which I forget what it was, and I had to settle my matters as well in the International Student Program Office relating to my employment in the upcoming quarter.

The campus looked awfully quiet that day and it was not a mystery anymore, since most classes had concluded their entire quarter's schedule. That day, December 10^th, 2010 was the last day for classes to hold final exams. Good thing for me, I have everything done before the tenth, including my classes' final exams. I couldn't imagine what it was like having final exams right on the day of my departure – my attention would be extremely divided into packing, excitement, as well as rushing to finish off final exams before enjoying my winter break in my home country.

Fortunately for me, nothing much to pack for my homecoming, since I only brought with me a small suitcase and I had no intention of putting it in the baggage. It would only be but bothersome, especially I'm not a patient person when it comes to waiting for the baggage to roll out on the conveyor belt.

From school, I rushed to Target to grab some authentic American sweets to be brought home as souvenir. Then I went home for final checking and repacking all the stuff before my friend came to pick me up.

I was scheduled to leave the apartment at seven o'clock and my flight was at 11.30 pm, quite late at night though. She told me that apparently, many Indonesians (not just Indonesians but international students) would head home that night. Most of them would return on the other days after the tenth. The earliest international students homecoming was on the tenth, which was the last day of the term as well. So you could say that I joined the first wave of international students homecoming. Considering I would be the earliest to leave town, I was looking forward for more chance and days to spend in Jakarta before going back.

The feeling of going home rushed through me from that afternoon until the sky grew dark. Still I could hardly believe that I was going back home that night to the country where I belong. The thrilling sensation tickled me. Should you say that it was something that I shouldn't praise since I only spent like five months here and I could already feel the exhilaration of going home. To some people, five months were short duration for someone who stayed abroad, some of my friends even said that. To be honest, I didn't wish to be return home in the first place.

It was just apparently my ticket to go to the US also came with a ticket to go home as well, making an impression as if I was in the US for some sort of a round trip – a very long one of course. Then I figured out the fact that I was the only child was the reason why I was to be sent home on winter, despite the fact I just arrived on late summer entering fall that year, especially some of my friends mentioned how I was going to regret for not seeing snow in the other side of the US (since the city where I live in doesn't snow in winter, in fact, these days it becomes as hot as Jakarta, but not as humid as Jakarta of course).

Anyway, for me, five months were already a long time to spend abroad. Of course, even though I wasn't all gushed with the excitement of going home in the first place, I sort of missed some things that could be seen, felt, or experienced in the US. There was something about Jakarta that was irreplaceable and couldn't be achieved here no matter how hard I tried to find it here. Those Javanese and Padang food that had been haunting my mind after all those times are scarcely found here.

They remained but stick in my mind until the moment came, which was no other than my homecoming day itself. I had thought to devour loads of food when I stepped my foot to Indonesia. There's only one restaurant though. It's pretty close from here, or at least it's considerably close. But nothing beats the authenticity of Indonesian traditional spices mixed up together, forming a combination of perfect tongue-spoiling taste.

Anyway, the moment finally came. After doing million times of checking and repacking, I finally shut the suitcase. At seven o'clock, my friend called me saying that she was already at the lobby to pick me up. My roommate Elda took me to the car. I pitied the fact that she couldn't go home that winter, but then she had something more exciting comparable to my trip home to do. Her sister lives in the US and she was planning to go on a vacation with Elda. I have set up my assumptions that maybe she was going to Disneyland, Denver, or even skiing in Lake Tahoe. But I shoved my thought away, thinking the SFO-TPE-CKG ticket attached to me was a hint of my own upcoming yet exciting vacation back to my home country.

t o b e c o n t i n u e d . . .