Perks on Earth

I wasn’t sure if or how I would document the events of the last week. As much as I want this blog to be happy and positive in following all the amazing things I’m having the privilege of experiencing, I also want to write in real time, about real things. And in reality, the last week has been really awful. Because it is not my mishap to tell, I’ll keep it short and not go into details. I just want you to see that it’s not all sunshine and roses. Things go wrong and for Dara, they did go wrong.

While on the Ha Giang Loop, most backpackers south East Asian highlight, Dara came down with a deteriorating fever and we had to leave the tour and get to a hospital with good medical care. Spending nearly five days and nights in a hospital bed, I’ve never felt as helpless or worried. Today, Dara is back to himself, smiling and laughing as we are getting back into the adventure of backpacking. It’s hard to imagine the Dara I sat beside this day last week, I’m not sure I want to imagine. Dara means so much to me. Not only is he my boyfriend – he is my best friend and biggest support, and so much more. Though he is oblivious to it, he has also adopted a new role since we left Ireland. He has become my sense of home. Reminding me of my roots, my family, and my homeland, he has protected me from homesickness and the feeling of being so far from those I love. Because his love is right here, beside me. When he was ill, my sense of home was in a way absent, and all the hopelessness of homesickness hit me. I have never so intensely missed the sea, never wanted to hug my mother as desperately. To be with Dara when he was so sick so far from home was not easy. Not only is it a worry, but navigating a healthcare system in a country and culture so far from what we know is more than challenging. The important thing is that he is okay, but I will be counting my blessings and privileges that we could seek advice on where to go, and that we could access and afford the medical treatment he needed. Not everyone is as lucky, and I won’t be forgetting that.

Anyways, a short explanation of an experience that felt very long. In the last days since his discharge and return to health, I haven’t been writing. In all honestly, I’ve felt defeated. The experience left me drained of my passion and motivation to explore. But the good news is that I woke up this morning, and I feel it. With a healthy and handsome Dara and a reunion with my amazing girlfriends, our last week in Vietnam is looking exciting again, and I’m excited to experience and document what we make of it. In summary, I’m sorry to myself that I haven’t been writing, but mostly, I’m just so happy to have Dara beside me, smiling and back to his usual self. Even if that is teasing me, I’ll take it.

On a side note – the last week of cold air and Christmas music in the hospital has really put me in the festive spirit! Maybe not a silver lining, but something right?