Fresh air
We made it safely back to the U.S. this afternoon. We’ve been sporadically catnapping since yesterday morning (Korea time) and are now feeling the jetlag. I went through another bout of severe chills brought on by overheating during a long haul flight. It’s a strange and terrible feeling being on a trans-Pacific or trans-Atlantic flight, 35,000 feet up, with mild turbulence, seven or eight hours into a flight, the cabin darkened to allow passengers to sleep, feeling very ill, sweating profusely, and shaking visibility from the cold sensation you get from overheating and poor cabin circulation. My wife said I looked deathly pale during the bout. Fortunately, I recovered by the end of the flight after drinking some water and eating a bit of food. This attack was not as bad as some, but it was still very discomforting.
We’re doing our best to turn our days and nights around so we can quickly adjust to the time difference (-16 hours). It feels great to be back in the U.S. for the first time since February 2005. The first things I noticed were the fresh air and blue skies. I’d almost forgotten the sensation of breathing in clean, fresh air and crystal clear blue skies, a far cry from the pollution and yellow sand in East Asia. I also enjoyed tasting good water that didn’t need to be thrice filtered. Or taking in the snow-capped mountains, evergreen trees, and deep blue lakes and rives. Some things you just can’t replicate overseas, like Disneyland or Starbucks. I really missed the environs of the Pacific Northwest. While we could have spent our R&R in Australia, I’m glad we came home. To me, there’s no better place on Earth than the Pacific Northwest.