Market Day

Still feeling a little surreal out here. Like I'm living in a halfway house... I came out here from a country bonded to its mainland cousins through trade, treaty and a genuine interest in extending the unusually long period of peace. Not everything was great, but like any relationship, over time we'd found our red lines and mostly decided not to cross them. Now I sit drinking coffee in the marketplace with the bustling Tuesday crowds around me and I feel embarrassed, like I have a sign on my head that says "part of the isle of the idiots". I'm not awfully prepared for the journey home.