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Closure

• From: Chris Hardie <chris@summersault.com>
• Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 10:58:35 -0500 (EST)

 

It's now been more than a month since I returned from land of Scots across
the pond.  The trip home was an exciting one - my flight from Aberdeen to
London was delayed by more than an hour, cutting my barely enough layover
time of 2 hours at London Heathrow down to about 15 minutes.  The London
airport is really nicely set up in that you can easily run through it
mumbling "get out of my way" and shout things like "please call gate 6 in
terminal 4 and tell them I'm coming" and people just act like it's normal.

So I made it.  I had to change terminals, sit on a bus, run through
crowded waiting areas, and squirm through customs, but I made it in 15
minutes, which is pretty good for an international flight.  I was out of
breath for the first hour of the flight anyway, but the remaining 7 hours
went by quickly.

I've recently developed my photos from the trip; 5 rolls of film (with 1
or 2 more to go) that contain a nice slice of my life there.  Looking at
them made me realize that I don't feel very far away from the experience
yet; all the places and people look so familiar to me, and so it doesn't
really strike me that they're from a different, far-away, interesting
place.  I guess that's how I've been reflecting on the experience in
general; it still feels very close and so I'm not agonizing over my
departure or mourning the distance from the Scottish way of life.  Surely
as time goes on I'll find that I desire to return there -- at least in
reflection if not in reality -- and the pictures will help me do so. 

I plan to put together a photo album / scrapbook with pictures and
descriptions and related tidbits, but I feel like this on-line journal
will be one of my most valuable tools in preserving the experience.  I was
able to communicate my various thoughts about the experience as it was
happening in a very natural and every-day kind of way, and keep interested
friends and family posted at the same time; for that I'm grateful.  And
so, here ends The Haggis Journal. 

Chris

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