English Refresher 2

Practical Exercise

Homecoming
( Azucena Grajo Uranza Bamboo in the Wind. Manila, Philippines.
Vera-Reyes, Inc. 1990, p.1)

From the plane at twenty thousand feet, all that Larry Esteva
could see of Manila was a cluster of lights like diamond on black
velvet. He had been away two years, and two hours out of Tokyo
he had begun searching the horizon, finally pressing his face
against the glass of the porthole, hoping to catch the first sight of
the city. For over an hour he could see nothing but the blackness
of the evening and with some amusement he smiled inwardly as
he felt his heart quickening at the thought of coming home.
The pressure in his ears told him that the plane was descending,
and he sat back, his seat belt fastened. Well, that was over, he
thought with relief. America was behind him. Thoughts and
memories now came like strands of thread, a colorful skein long
ago dropped and now picked up again.
He had been eager to leave at first, excited over the prospect of
traveling and living in America. But when the time drew near, he
wanted to give it up, preferring to stay and work. His father
prevailed upon him, and he had obediently gone although his
heart was not in it. In the U.S., he worked for a while after
getting his degree but found no point in prolonging his stay in a
foreign land. His place was home. And here he was, he thought
happily, home at last, starting a new life, life a rebirth.
It had been easy enough to drift into the lifestyle of America. It
was so much like home in a certain sense. But he missed the
social participation, and he felt adrift, cut off from his moorings.
He saw how his countrymen in America lived, moving but on the
periphery of society, clinging to each other for safety and
comfort, and yet victims of each other’s bickering and intrigues.
And there was not a day when he did not long to come home.

At last, he heard the bump of wheels that told him they were on
land again. And he felt a sudden joy, like a traveler gazing upon
familiar rooftops. Quickly reaching for his bag, he joined the line
of passengers on the aisle, impatient to get out of the plane.