Corey writes:
Gina and I are now in Kolkata, waiting to leave India. Everything feels kind of unreal right now. Everything is in flux. It feels very much like Oct 2009, just before we left the US.
We said goodbye to friends that we will genuinely miss. It wasn’t until this last week when I had to say goodbye to people and places in Koraput that I realized just how comfortable it had become. We had friends, we had work, we had a home. We’d grown roots without noticing. I feel sad that we have to uproot ourselves again. I feel proud that we thrived in a foreign place. I feel excited to have an adventure in Nepal and Thailand. I am greatly anticipating coming home.
Our last memory of Koraput will be the train station, with all of Gina’s co-workers helping us with our bags and finding our seats and giving us flowers.
To the people of Koraput, we say "thank you". The shop owners who I visited every week on market day, co-workers who eventually learned to trust me, friends and neighbors who invited us into their homes for meals, the tribal villagers who endured our staring during field visits, the children with their never-ending "hihowareyous".
There’s not much else to say about Koraput that hasn’t already been said on this blog. I’ll end by stealing something that Gina said on Facebook that’s worth repeating:
Dear Koraput, I usually loved you, I sometimes hated you, but I never regretted meeting you. Goodbye. I will never forget you. I hope to see you again.
7 comments:
- At October 25, 2011 9:18 AM Simona and Russell said...
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Have a safe trip!
I hope we can have you guys over once you've settled back in! - At October 25, 2011 10:25 AM len y. manikan said...
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congratulations for completing the placement. i can imagine how good it felt to be going back home, but at the same time sad to leave a second home. at least that's how i felt when i left.
- At October 25, 2011 3:20 PM Kevin E.G. Perry said...
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You summed it up perfectly when you said you don't realise how comfortable you are until you have to leave. I'm sat here in London missing it all over again!
Have fun on your travels! - At October 26, 2011 3:32 AM jackie said...
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Safe travels kids! I can't wait to hear about your experiences in Nepal and Thailand :)
- At October 26, 2011 7:44 AM Mom Mac said...
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Both the happiness and sadness of life. We encounter both but grow along the way!
- At October 26, 2011 6:23 PM Chris S said...
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The Returning has begun. Preparations will be made, oh yes.
Have fun and soon you soon! - At November 6, 2011 11:31 PM Emily said...
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Congratulations and have fun on your adventure! I hope the flooding in Bangkok has cleared before you get there.