kaori's departure

I took Kaori to the airport today. She will be back in Japan by tonight, making it a long 12-hour flight with a 13-hour time difference.
She requested chocolate chip cookies, so I loaded her up with an entire batch and a loaf of banana bread as a "yapa"(Ecuadorian word). She is taking back yogurt-covered pretzels and natural peanut butter, her other American cravings.
Unlike last time, she left thinking that she would be back to study, possibly even in our home again! So the goodbye was more like another "matane" or see you later.
Something beautiful always happens when I've taken one of our Japaneese students to the airport... their friends show up to say goodbye. All three times the departure times have been early in the morning, too. I thought that maybe it's a Japaneese thing, but it's not only their Japaneese friends that arrive to send them off, it's other students from China, Taiwan, Mongolia and (I think) Korea. Could it be the situation of living abroad that ties these students together like this? I like it anyhow, and am so glad to witness this expression of caring and I'm even more glad that I am challenged by it. I can definately be a better friend even if it involves early mornings.