Scattering to the four winds

again

The All Class 2024 International School of Bangkok Reunion peaked last night with our gala. It brought so much and so many people together from my life. My sophomore government teacher, in her later years, was guest of honour along with my former colleague at the War College, Bob Godec, current U.S. Ambassador. The dinner allowed me to tell her I taught a form of government for 40+ years, modeled on how she taught us to ask questions rather than obsess singularly with answers. I thought she might cry.

It was a fabulous week to see so much from our childhood, learn about a country striving to rise while encountering the contemporary challenges of climate change, energy needs, employment demands, and anything else. It was a superb week to reconnect, learn, and be blessed as we discussed yesterday.

it was terrific seeing everyone, meeting so many I never knew, hearing their stories. It was just fun, especially at the new campus.

As true following our ISB years, we third culture folks now scatter to the wind—again. Many are going on to Laos and Vietnam, a few to Cambodia, a couple to Hua Hin. I asked whether we should do an add on when we first decided to attend but my husband saw plenty of Southeast Asia outside of Bangkok when he spent a tour with the Marines at Khe Sanh. As he put it, ‘I did Vietnam, Cynthia.’ For that commitment, I and the country should be appreciative but it was reason for us to skip that portion. I am fine with that so we will return to the United States.

I am glad we came but know it is time to move on as life moved on. We believed we were relocating to the DC area for my dad’s work when we departed Don Muang Airport. Instead, upon deplaning in LA following that sad departure from friends and long trans-Pacific flight, we were actually going back to Colombia where I finished high school. I was ecstatic to reconnect with kids from elementary school but things were different the second time around. Not necessarily bad but certainly different as they had changed and goodness knows I was a far different person.

Buddhism may or not be a religion but one of its central tenets is the never ending impermanence of life. Humans love thinking they like change but we all so often cling to moments, struggling not to lose them or even to entertain modest changes. We really like stability, no matter what we say. So much suffering is trying to capture things to prevent change yet that is a fool’s errand.

Celebrate every moment as it won’t come your way again.

Thank you so much for coming along to Bangkok. I appreciate your time and eagerly await your thoughts.

Be well and be safe.FIN