To the USA and Back

Whew. It has been an eventful month or so of travel. I left Colombia on December 16th for the USA and safely arrived back here yesterday. Time seemed to fly by in an accelerated fashion. It was only a few days ago I was sitting in an airport writing all the things I planned to do while home. "Only a few days ago"  turned into 3 weeks.

3 weeks without writing in my blog. 3 weeks of snow in Michigan. 3 weeks of speaking the same language as everyone around me. 3 weeks with texting powers. 3 weeks of quality time with family and friends. 3 weeks of magic.

I quite frankly don't feel like recapping my entire time at home, so instead I'll shoot for highlighting some events en route to the USA and back to Colombia.

(Highlight 1: Matecaña International Airport, Pereira, Colombia): In the past when I have flown, I have also printed off my itinerary from whatever site I booked my ticket with. Its like my security blanket in case anything ever goes awry. Well, I'm not certain I've ever used it once. This time, I made the calculated decision to save some trees and chose not to print off my itinerary. My cab driver dropped me off at the airport and as I walked in, I realized that I had no clue what airline I was flying out on. Hm. Da. Da. Da. Wish I had my itinerary. Avianca. Yeah, I decided to try that airline because it is what I flew out on last time. I walked over to the line and a woman approached me. She asked me something really long in super speed Spanish. I let her know that I didn't speak Spanish well, but she didn't seem to care. Again, a;sldkjfas;ldfkjadskfjdskfjads;lfkjdsfkj. Super fast. I was confused. Once more a;ldskfja;ldfkjadlfkads;fljads;fljads;fjads;lfkj. Sigh. Obviously she has no speed control on her voice. Dang. Wish I had that itinerary with me know. I did manage pick out one word from her line of mumbo jumbo:"passport". I did what any logical person would do and just gave mine to her. She took off like a bullet (walking almost as fast as she talked) and soon hustled back to tell me in 2.2 seconds that I was in the right line and needed to wait for security to check my bags. Yes, that whole sentence took her under 3 seconds. I smiled and went to find security.

(Highlight 2: Matecaña International Airport, Pereira, Colombia): I shuffled over to the area of security and waited. I was told that a gentleman would have to look through all my bags before I checked them in. No big deal, I wasn't smuggling any drugs or anything and I had nothing to hide. What bothered me was the wait. I waited and waited and waited some more. I patted myself on the back for giving myself 3 hours at the airport. As I stood in security I also noticed the check-in line getting longer and longer. I was thankful I wouldn't have to wait in that line. Eventually a young security man came and asked me to put my bags on the table. 21 kg of dead weight is a lot harder to lift than one might imagine. My bag was jam packed with gifts to bring back to the USA. At first it was no big deal. He was just taking things out and sorting things around. Soon he found some presents that I had wrapped to bring home. He looked at me, back at the gift and then back at me. "I'm going to have to open these." Bummer. All that work for nothing. So away he went, opening up gifts and looking at each thing carefully. I bet he felt like it was Christmas - except none of the gifts were his! Then he got to the Colombian soda. I had 2 bottles of unique flavors to bring back to my sister and brother-in-law.  He got really serious and told me that he would have to open one of them. Ugh, they were going to be flat before even leaving the country. So he opened one, sniffed it, put the lid back on and placed it back in my suitcase. Really? You think you're going to detect something by smelling it? The second item he had a problem with was coffee. I had requests from several people to bring back Colombian coffee. This means I had a few bags...okay 15 bags...packed tightly in my bag. He looked at them quizzically and told me that he'd have to open one. He proceeded with a bamboo skewer to poke a hole in one of the bags. Again, he did a sniff check. Yup, smells like coffee bro. The security man then took a piece of packing tape and taped off the hole. Great, now when I get to customs in the United States and they see this they are going to think I'm trying to smuggle something. Sweet. He wasn't finished with my bag or with sniffing my perishable items either. I had several jars of arequipe (like caramel) in my bag and he told me again that he was going to have to open one. Do I even have power to protest? So he opened up a jar, smelled the sweet aroma, taped around the entire thing, and put it back. Well, can't give that one as a gift anymore. As he proceeded to the bottom of my bag, he didn't open anything else. He carefully placed everything in the bag and told me I was clear to go check my bag in. Score. It was about time to get on the plane!

(Highlight 3, O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois): I had 5 hour to pass in O'Hare.  I was by myself, not sleepy nor hungry, and sick of walking. That is when it struck me to search for a prime people-watching place. What better way could I pass some time? As I strolled toward my gate I passed some leather seats facing the busy walkway right after a security point. Perfect.  Here are some things that made me smile: (1) I recognized several people walk back and forth a few times. I wondered if they were busy wasting time like I was or lost. I smiled as I pondered this. (2)I saw a girl walk by wearing sequin boots. She had to be in her 20s.  Sequin boots should be illegal for anyone older than 10. 6 minutes later, another girl in her late teens talked by wearing the same boots. Come on now people. 19 minutes later a little girl around the age of 7 walked by wearing sequin boots. That's more like it! (3) A man marched by with a little boy (maybe around 5 years old) slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. My initial thought was that the boy was in trouble and the dad was on a mission. As the 2 passed by I noticed a big grin on the boys chattering face. If he was in trouble, he certainly didn't make it known. He looked happy as a lark and talkative as a parrot.

The next hour was passed just watching people, making up stories for them, and laughing at ridiculousness. Success.

(Highlight 4, in route between Chicago and Green Bay): This flight was a mere 45 minutes and I think I grinned and sporadically giggled the entire time. I knew that when the plane landed I'd get to see my sister and mom. It just made me giddy and I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. I'm curious if anyone thought I was crazy. Ha!

(Highlight 5 Austin Straubel International Airport, Green Bay, Wisconsin): Going through security with my carry-ons I was asked to step aside because it appeared I had some illegal liquids in my bag. The bag that they decided to check was filled to the brim. I had strategically placed everything to make the most room possible for more things. Well, the lady basically dumped out my bag. I thought to myself, "There is no way she's ever going to get everything back in. Great." After searching through everything she picked up a container of powdered coffee creamer, "That's probably what he saw." Haha. Definitely not something they see every day. She took all the contents of my bag and told me she had to run them through the scanner again. No big deal. She ran them through, carried them over to me, and asked, "Could you please put everything back in your bag?" I kind of wanted to say no, just to see if she could successfully re-pack my bag (not a chance by the way) but graciously accepted and walked off to a table where I could put the puzzle back together. The whole time smiling and shaking my head.

(Highligh 6 El Dorado International Aiport, Bogota, Colombia): This was the last leg of my flight before touching back in Pereira yesterday. I had been traveling 23 hours by this point and was looking forward to just closing my eyes for this last 45 minute stretch. I was the last to climb up the plane and as I made my way to my seat I realized I was seated next to a little girl. She was 7. I placed my carry-on in the overhead bin and sat down. Little girl, "Are you sitting here?" With a little less sleep I may have said something sassy, but I simply replied, "Yes, yes I am." Turns out she is the most spunky, talkative, and patient 7 year old I've met in a long time. She was traveling by herself to meet her mom back at home in Pereira. From the moment I sat down we were talking. I initially explained to her that I don't know Spanish very well because I am from the United States. She told me she would help me with Spanish. Perfect. Nothing humbles you quite like a 7 year old teaching you sweet skills. I loved it. We talked and talked and talked. At one point I looked out the window at and told her I wanted to go for a run on the clouds but that it wasn't possible. Her eyes lit up and she exlaimed, "We could go on them if we had magic skates! Yes, we need magic skates."  She was being quite serious to. I smiled all over. Soon the stewardess came by and offered drinks. Gimela wanted coffee and a mango juice. Really girl? You're like 7 and want coffee. This is a bad idea. The flight attendant filled a cup 3/4 way and handed it over. After 2 creamers and 3 sugars she was ready to taste it, "Yuck. I don't like it...it needs more sugar." I thought to myself, "Girl, you don't need any more sugar in you!" Ha. Well, she really didn't end up needing more sugar because after 4 minutes or so of playing with her coffee she eventually spilled it. All over. Thankfully nothing burned her but there was an awfully large mess. Great! I clicked the button for the stewardess and she was quickly came, looked at the disaster, and dashed off to get some more paper towels. By the time we had it cleaned up we were already starting the decent to the airport. My little friend peaked out the window and squealed, "Periera!!!! My home!! The best city in the world!" ...and that is how I returned to my Colombian home.