between..

5 cities.
4 flights.
3 layovers.
22 hours.

it actually didn't feel that long. my layovers were all less than 2 hours, and even though i had to rush to catch one plane it was quite possible. airports for some people are scary places or frustrating places .. for me they are often quite enjoyable. i heard about a third culture kid who said that he was most comfortable in airports. neither here nor there. leaving and arriving. between the goodbyes and the hellos.

my longest flight was not quite 8 hours, and i had a nice german man for a seatmate. we talked probably 2 hours (i slept more than 4, as well!) and turns out he travels quite a bit more than i do. but .. his whole extended family lives less than 50 miles apart. quite different from my family. he has deep roots and plans to always call the area where he lives just outside frankfurt home. of course, this led to him asking me 'where is your home?' .. and i gave him the answer i've given many times, but which feels more and more true. my parents still live in the same home that they lived in when i was born, so that is indeed one home. at the same time .. home is with people that i love. so when i'm with family or dear friends, regardless of where we are, i'm home. when i'm with innerchange, i'm home. when i'm at any of my 3 churches, i'm home. 'home' in varying degrees .. but still, i think this is true. (if anybody begs to differ, or has a question .. comment away!)