Here we finally reach the moment we've all been waiting for: after my years of adventures in Thailand and Nepal, I made it back to the US!
Catch up if you haven't yet read the other parts of the journey:
The Village // Village → Kathmandu // KTM Airport // Dubai // Flying over the North Pole
Reading time: 8 minutes
Recap
We left off our last post on the plane from Dubai to Los Angeles, looking out over our final destination and feeling the reality of actually arriving there.
Los Angeles, we have returned!
The landing was very emotional. I couldn't believe it was real.
🚙 Post-Arrival: LAX to Pasadena 🚙
Duration: 2 hours
Vehicle: Private Car Service
Nepal Time (My Body Clock): 3:45-5:45 AM
Los Angeles Time (Local Clock): 3-5 PM
I had booked a private shuttle service to take me from the airport to my hometown of Pasadena, a 40 minute trip without traffic. When the plane was about to touch down, I switched my phone SIM card from my Nepali number to my American one. This was quite a trippy thing later when I went off of airplane mode and got voicemails left for me in 2019.
After going through customs and explaining why I had been in Nepal for 18 months/out of the US for over two years, I went to the baggage claim area. The airport was not crowded at all, which was so nice and easy. Not as many arriving flights these days as pre-pandemic, I guess. I waited by the baggage carousel praying that the art gods would be in our favor, and thankfully they pulled through and my bags came!! This means that the more than 100 original artworks I made in Nepal made it to the US (and are now becoming available to collect!). What a blessing. Feeling like the most fortunate grateful girl on the planet, I went outside to wait for my car. It came within 10 minutes and I was on my way home!
The drive took us through Downtown Los Angeles, where I discovered that it is certainly not lockdown on the roads! There was SO much traffic. It took 2 hours to drive what should take 40 minutes if the roads are moving well. I felt such culture shock instantly. Coming from strict lockdown Kathmandu to free and congested Los Angeles was quite the contrast. Funny enough, my driver didn't speak any English - only Chinese - so I felt normal in the sense that the people around me didn't understand what I was saying, just like in Nepal when I spoke English. I was video calling Sanam for the last half hour of the drive, just as we were leaving Downtown Los Angeles and the traffic cleared completely. He got to see the streets of my hometown. His first comment was, "It's so clean!". He then saw the road leading up to my childhood home. He got to see my parents' reaction when I drove up. And then, I started to cry with happiness and a lot of emotions, so we hung up and I got out of the car.
I saw my parents in person then for the first time in over two years.
My childhood home, and my parents (left, behind gate)! Welcome home!
Seeing my parents again was so surreal. Especially because we could only see each other from 6 feet apart, with masks on. But it was so good.
At this point in the pandemic timeline, California was doing phenomenally well. Vaccines were readily available to whomever wanted them. Many people were already fully vaccinated. However, coming from a country with a highly deadly variant where infection rate is so high, I needed to quarantine on arrival. My angels of parents set up a way for me to quarantine, for the first night in a tent in our backyard, and then in an air b-n-b across the street from them.
I arrived to this quarantine backyard palace, set up by my amazing mom and dad.
They set up the tent in a glamping fashion (glamorous camping). My mom had sent me photos of the setup while I was in Dubai airport on layover, which made me way more excited about coming home.
The rule was, I would arrive at home, go into the tent and strip everything I had worn while traveling, use the outdoor bathroom my mom made in our backyard a few years ago to shower, and put on fresh clean clothes my mom had laid out for me. Then, with double-mask and gloves, I could hug my parents for the first time since April of 2019.
I showered back here, sitting on that lovely rock. My parents had prepared warm water in the Solar shower bag. To many this would look like a less nice shower than they're used to, but for me this was SUCH a treat. Warm water, shower head, privacy... dreamy.
Once I was clean and ready, the dogs were released first. I have two small chihuahua-esque doggies that I adore, and they were so excited to see me too. One of them was running around the yard with excitement and the other wouldn't leave my side. Then, it was my parents' turn. Those hugs were beyond special. I think we were all crying.
We had dinner my mom had cooked earlier: Mexican food, my favorite and the kind of food I missed most while abroad. We ate socially distanced on the driveway, so we could talk but feel safe.
My parents had had both of their vaccine shots, but they were only one day out from their second shot, so they weren't protected yet. Plus, they weren't isolating, so it was safer for me to do the quarantine as I am supposed to, separately from them. I settled into my glamping quarantine for the night.
Everything was so well thought-out and made me feel so loved. The bed with my meditation pillows, hand sanitizer/gloves/masks/wipes, water containers, snack cooler, even a gift on the bed.
Curious what was inside the gift? A few things that will make a lot of sense to the people who know me well (especially the last one): peppermint bark, Amazon gift card, and COW JIGSAW PUZZLE. Cows/buffalo are my favorite animals!
I slept a full 12 hours the first night, in the tent. It was so good. Then, in the afternoon, I moved into my air b-n-b across the street (my parents' birthday gift to me).
Once I entered the gate, I was shocked to find an oasis that I'd never known was there!
I had never seen the gorgeous air b-n-b in our across-the-street neighbor's backyard before. I knew they made it a few years back, but WOW it is nice. There is a pool, mountain view... and the inside is absolutely stunning.
This garage-converted-studio had every comfort - especially comforts that little miss me coming from the Nepali village during peak pandemic hadn't experienced in years!
The design is perfect, and the epitome of comfort (especially for someone coming from village life, literal mud house in Nepal). I could tailor the temperature in the room to exactly what I wanted - heater, air conditioner, you name it - I could play Youtube videos directly on the huge TV, I could refrigerate or microwave food to be any temperature, I could have a hot shower and use the bathroom without going outside. I was savoring every little detail. It was like magic. Nothing felt normal, and I appreciated all of it.
Bathroom with gorgeous shower, hot water right from the faucets! There was even a flushing Western toilet!
Kitchenette with a FRIDGE, MICROWAVE, and even a KEURIG. (My boyfriend, once a barista, had never seen a Keurig before; it was fun to show him via video and see how impressed he was!) Also note the dual HEATER/AIR CONDITIONER that allowed me to control the temperature inside to whatever I wanted. Please understand that the most temperature control method I had where I was living before was a fan that worked only when the power didn't go out. This air b'n'b was SO exciting to me, especially for these reasons.
Huge TV that I could sync my phone to, comfy couch, big soft bed, the whole 9 yards.
The bags that had made it around the world with me (many times)!
My angel of a mother went to Target and got me what I requested: vegetables, bananas, and a new compass (to replace the one confiscated at the airport).
I was to stay in the air b-n-b for one week, seeing my parents just for dinner or for short visits. Per CDC guidelines, travelers returning from abroad should quarantine for 14 days, OR quarantine for 7 days with a negative Covid test taken day 3. I left quarantine only once, to drive (my car was in my "bubble") to get my Covid test done.
It was my first time driving a car in over two years, but my body completely remembered how with no difficulty. I did my test at a local pharmacy drive-through. They did a self-collection method, so I stuck the swab up my own nose and gave the swab in a vile to the pharmacist behind a window. Very safe and smart. I got my result back the next day...
Negative!! Woo hoo!! My mom and I shared a beer to celebrate.
My little brother Sparky (behind me) was excited, too!
From this point, we continued to quarantine just in case, but we felt like we could probably relax a bit. Emotionally, at least. We would be able to live together and talk without masks in just a couple of days, anyway!
All of my siblings were a bit confused during quarantine, but were so sweet and excited for our reunion nonetheless. Blossom the tortoise is my eldest younger brother, clocking in at 21 years old. Sparky and Kimmy are somewhere between 5 and 10 years old. I adore them all!
A few more random quarantine moments:
Daily (sometimes more often) video calls with my love helped me so much - and still do!
Not a very easy adjustment, but the difficult moments come in waves. This was when it really hit me how long it may be before I see Sanam in person again. Thank goodness for Buddy to help me through it.
On May 11, a new notice came from the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority extending the flight ban until May 31. This was a clear indicator that it was absolutely the right decision going back to America when I did.
Now, I write this on May 13, on the last night of my quarantine in the air b-n-b. That means I'm moving into my childhood home tomorrow... which will be yet another step on this transition.
I'm ready.
🏡
Stay tuned for updates, reflections, experiences in the return to the US, untold stories from travels, and more. Drop a comment below if there are any specific questions, stories, or matters you would like me to write/post about!
Coming Monday: "The Return: Things I Never Knew I'd Be Grateful For."
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