Hours before the onset of my 11 day vacation in Boston, Massachusetts, the reluctance to travel 24 hours to the other side of the earth was still heavy on my mind. The past 11 months back in Stellenbosch had been thoroughly rewarding. My longing to return home had finally been answered in a reasonably sustainable manner. Yet, my life was not the same as 7 years before. Truth is, my life was spanning two countries; two hemispheres; two cultures. My horizons had been irreversibly expanded. And yet my sentiment was mostly rooted in Stellenbosch. So, this trip loomed long and tedious before me.
Quite uneventful is how one could describe the flight to Boston. Except for the fact that my suitcase and I got separated in my mad dash to the connecting flight for Boston. In fact, United ensured that my suitcase did not board the same flight to Boston as I. In fact, United, at their leasure, only sent my suitcase two flights later - disrupting an evening of relaxation with mates in Cambridge after a exhausting 24 h trip.
But my mood turned quickly. Before I knew it, social events came fast and thick, one every evening. I had two official appointments during office hours. Monday night, my old music group delivered their annual recital. How odd was it not to take part. Some performances were staggeringly exquisite. I left newly inspired to revive my ailing dedication to piano and enter a piece in next year's recital. Thursday night introduced me to Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe, charmingly performed by students of MIT. Singing God Save the Queen on US soil did carry a measure of mischief and irony not lost on me.
For the sake of maintaining my Green Card, I have to return to Boston next year this time. I also require a travel document from the US Embassy in Cape Town to ensure my reentry.
My old friend of Boston all seemed quite chuffed with my visit. Our weekly Wednesday evening at the pub was revisited; a barbecue followed on the second Saturday. My trademark Italian breakfast sausages featured with the usual lamb chops.
One felt at home 17000km away from home. And yet, that old yearning to have all of this down there in my home town, to include my mates from Stellenbosch, never strayed far from my inner mind.
