Struggle and Chaos in three Countries

Peered out my window, looking down from thirty-three thousand feet. A placid, azure blue sky surrounded me for now. To be sure, there had been turbulence before, and there would likely be turbulence again. But for now, it was calm and I had long since learned to weather a storm. It is autumn, 2012 and I'm planning an expedition - a pilgrimage of sorts. Traveling to my place of birth to visit the family I left behind so far away, I yearn to re-trace my roots. Far below, ghostly clouds pass i...