The admiration of strangers means little to me now- good as it may be. [He still needs to be honest.]

There are matters to attend to back home. Ones that I cannot stand to be held back from. [He's getting used to the fact that he's constantly prompted to say everything he's thinking. It's like a hard prod in the back that makes him blurt things out.]

To know that you are here and alive is enough to make this tolerable.