Journey Reflections: From Wichita to Home
It has been a few days since I returned, specifically last Saturday, when I left Wichita for Chicago. The journey was calm, but the American woman sitting next to me wasn’t very open to conversation, and she didn’t give me the opportunity to share the trip with her. One interesting thing I noticed is that small planes flying on domestic routes in America operate at a moderate altitude, allowing you to see the country from a unique perspective—one from the air. I experienced this during my flight from Washington to Wichita.
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However, the three-hour wait at Chicago O’Hare Airport felt endless. Like any group traveling together, we had discussions and debates about local and international politics, which led to a few bad jokes at our own expense.
Vienna—just a step closer to home, our continent—a strange relief that happened suddenly. Only an hour and a little more separates me from home. Europe is entirely different from America; I could almost call it another world. From phone chargers to designated smoking areas, everything is different. Well, 20 hours without them! 😂
We arrived in Pristina shortly after noon on Sunday. The whole family, including our dog Nino, seemed to have felt my absence for 12 days even more than I expected, missing the only woman in the house. At first, Rrapi looked at me confused, but then he couldn’t stop hugging me, and I forgot everything else, as if the days spent away from them no longer mattered. Ah, the love for home!
I slept little that day, and even after a week, my sleep still hasn’t stabilized. The time zone changes seem to have thrown off my balance. Nevertheless, returning to daily problems and work stress began right on Monday. I woke up with anxiety, as that day was supposed to mark the launch of the fourth season of my investigative show, “Kiks Kosova.” But as soon as I arrived at work, I realized we couldn’t start; the set was still unfinished.
The week ahead will be filled with stress and challenges. I have started working at AAB, where I will be conducting exercises for the course “Practice of Journalism Genres” and will also be teaching investigative journalism. This is a new job for me, but at the same time, it is a dream I have always had.
I am thinking about continuing to write here on the blog, as I feel it helps me relieve stress. What do you think?