A Triumphal Return

I’m going to let you all in on a little secret: I typically don’t title my blog posts until after I’ve written them. It goes like this, I write until my brain stops working, I scan  over my work, and then as I’m scanning I just try and settle in on a few words to put in the title.  No big deal, it’s a pretty easy process. Today I’m doing it backwards. I’ve written a title before even deciding what to write. My hope is that it will be a foretelling of what is to come: this return is going to be triumphal! The plane will have no problems, I will make all my connecting flights, I will promptly pass out into a deep slumber on every leg of flying, I will return to Pereira without the slightest hiccup along the way, Starbucks will give me a free coffee (hey – dream big or go home…right?) and American Airlines will not succeed in making me cry this time! High hopes, yes. Worth the positive attitude, every time!

Well I’m in the airport now in Marquette. Chilling on the right side of security and waiting to start boarding. So far, things have been good. Security thinks I’m dangerous and a potential threat, but they’ve just got to understand the needs of a biology teacher in a foreign country. One of my carryon bags contains 3 teachers’ edition science books (picture the biggest, most awful/heavy, hard cover text book you can) and a 10 pound box of Borax. Then stuffed in all the crevices are random clothes articles and 3 packs of scone mix.  As it rolled through the scanner all it showed was solid black contents. I overheard the security guy saying, “um…I can see nothing…this one’s gotta be opened up and tested for hazardous chemicals.” Ha! I was on the verge of giggling as another security man opened up my bag. I wasn’t going to say a word to justify the awkward contents, but since he speaks English I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. Once I’m Colombia-side again, the intimidation of Spanish returns and I’ll turn down the option every time, so I figured now is as good of time as ever to speak in a language I’m comfortable with. I briefly mentioned that moving to another country makes you appreciate books and simple chemicals you can only get here. His response, “well are you at least living someplace fun?”  Sure, I responded, Colombia is great. After grabbing my stuff and sitting down another lady went through and had to be checked. The security man I talked with pulled the same line, “well are you at least going someplace fun?” I smiled as I decided it’d be great  to count how many times a day he says that. I’ll admit, it’s a pretty good line.