The Two Week Itch

Wednesday after work I head back to Chicago for my second of two home leaves during this assignment. It's my last planned trip before the end of the year. The build up to the trip feels different; something is missing. Two weeks before every time I've left India, whether it be to go home or just for a vacation out of country, I get the itch. For whatever reason, two weeks before I leave I typically have the distinct desire, which quickly escalates into a "need", to get out of the country as soon as possible.

Wednesday's plane should be a little bigger, but you get the idea....

Typically, every little thing about the country bothers me. The traffic becomes unbearably chaotic, elevators skipping past my floor annoy me, the strategically placed speed bumps come more frequently, beggars are more attracted to my car than usual, all the beer starts to taste like Miller Lite (not a good thing), and the locals' English becomes more difficult to understand (not that I've tried to improve my Hindi).

This trip? No itch. None of those things are bothering me; well, except maybe the beer.

While I'm happy that I get to go home to reconnect with friends and family, for the first time I don't feel like I "have" to go back. Maybe I finally see India as home. Maybe it's the fact my parents were here in March and Lindsay's Mom was here in February. Maybe it's the visitors and travels planned through the rest of the year.  Maybe work is just busy and there's a lot to get done. Maybe I'm running out of time in India, and it signals the start of "the end."

So it's a short week of work, a week of family and friends in Chicago and Moline, a weekend with my buddies in Memphis, and three days in the office in the U.S. (you know, it's never a bad thing to show your face in your home office every few months). It's going to be a fun trip home, but I've got to admit, I think I'll be ready to board that flight back home to India on May 19.