Home at Last

Waiting at the international entrance at Dulles airport, I started to see the flow of Korean passengers increase so I knew my wife's boys would soon be working their way through immigration. Their mother, my wife, could not get off work this day so it was up to me to ensure they arrived home safe and sound. After 10 minutes the flow of people coming through the double doors slowed so I became a little worried. Soon, a woman who was wearing a Korean Airlines uniform came out saying something loudly in very accented English. I couldn't make out what she was saying but I had a feeling it was about the boys. As she came closer to me, I spoke up and said does this involve two young boys from Thailand? She looked at me quizzically and said "no, they are two boys from Korea." Now I knew what was up, so i asked was their name this? Oh yes, she said, "who are you?" I said I was their uncle and sponsor for them to get in the US. She said they were being interviewed and fingerprinted at immigration and that they would be along in a little while. Again with the fingerprinting, I thought, as I thanked her.

I know we know live under a set of different rules regarding public safety, but this was their second set of fingerprints and their second presentation of their passport. I know from working with security agencies that name and face identification is hard to do in the west. Names, especially Muslim ones, are hard as there is a limited pool of names to choose from, is obvious. Faces, especially Asian ones, are hard for Caucasian security officials because "they all look alike". Hence, the multiple fingerprints. For those who think I have a western bias, I know this is a similar problem in the East where Thai officials cannot discern western faces.

So I sat down and waited, a little worried that some knuckleheaded official would discover some new interpretation of some obscure rule and decide to detains the boys. Such was my relief when they emerged smiling and pushing 2 carts with 6 bags on them. We hugged awkwardly, as this isn't done much in Thailand even between parents and children, and started to work our way towards the car. We had to borrow a friend's SUV as my 5 passenger car would not carry all of us and bags, too (how do Europeans do these things?)

When we arrived home, I had them help me carry the bags to their rooms. They were obedient helpers and tugged mightily at the bags. I asked if they were hungry and they said yes. I knew they liked some western food so I inquired about popcorn. They shook their heads "yes" enthusiastically. So I microwaved some popcorn, split up an apple and put it on a plate with some cheddar cheese, and then presented to them in front of the TV. I was watching my favorite football team play poorly, but no matter, they enjoyed the action as they devoured the food. 


Later, my cell phone rang and it was my wife. I passed the phone to the boys who had a lengthy chat with their mom. They listened expressionlessly, as Thai boys are taught at a young age not to show emotion even in emotional events like these. After this, I spoke to my wife and she was quietly ecstatic they were finally in our home. Later, as the game wound down to it's inevitable bad ending, the boys started to move slowly and become more horizontal on the couches. I asked them if they would like to go upstairs and try out their new beds. They agreed sleepily and soon they were snoring listlessly. Mother jet lag had sent them to bed early.

I relaxed and waited for my wife to come home from work. When she arrived, she gave me a quick kiss and went immediately to her sons' rooms. She stood in the doorway of each one and looked at them for a long time as if she couldn't believe her eyes. We retired to our bed and after few minutes, I thought I heard her breath an audible sigh of relief. But what she didn't know as she fell contentedly asleep, was that the real work of making a life for her boys in America, had just begun.  


 
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