Well, it has happened. This morning I woke up, and almost immediately started crying. It could have been attributed to the fact that my health has been going through ups and downs lately (indigestion is just part of the game here in Thailand, I suppose), or the fact that a neighborhood dog kept me up most of the night. But it could also have been a combination of our visitors leaving, the fact that my friend Mac texted us that he was at my favorite Portland holiday event the Holiday Ale Fest, and that we are leaving Thailand soon.
It seems odd that a bout of homesickness would be spurred by the fact that you’re leaving a a place that is not your home. Perhaps it is, in a way, the same anxiety though. While there is still plenty that we have not done in Chiang Mai, plenty of food we haven’t eaten and sites we have not seen, it feels familiar in so many ways. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that I was no longer phased by the no fewer than seven wats we pass every day on our way from our apartment to the co-working space. There are a handful of restaurants where we eat that I know exactly what I’m going to get before we go, and I look forward to seeing the same servers and to being recognized by them in return. I feel so comfortable on the back of our motorbike, in my pink helmet, daydreaming as Jonah zips us through the city.