Friday, May 22, 2009
My alarm went off at 4:53 and hopefully that’s the last time for quite a while that I’ll see a 4 or 5 as the first digit. (I know, I said that yesterday) I got ready in a nice big bathroom and Whitney even had a straightener for me to borrow. Not too shabby. I got my stuff together and lugged my bags all the way bag to T3 which was actually really close (I’m not sure why we used the tram system – it was right on the other side of the hotel, maybe 150 yards walking)
The lady was right, they were swamped. I’m glad I got there in plenty of time because the lines were pretty long. I was waiting to check in and my bags kept tipping over on this group behind me and they said, “Excuse me” and I replied, “sorry!” What a wonderful change! In Europe they probably would’ve kicked my bags, given me a dirty look, or ran off with one of them. Ok, that’s an exaggeration but I was still impressed by the politeness.
So I ended up checking in with the same lady that I worked with the night before (I waited until her counter opened up) and I assumed she would remember me since I was there only a few hours before. Not to mention I was wearing the exact same outfit.. Yeah, it’s a little gross but it’s what I wanted to wear – don’t judge me. Anyway, she definitely did not remember me and was really grouchy! I put both bags on the scale and expected her to just tag them and send them through but she made me take one off and weigh them both. What?! So my big bag was 53.5 lbs, aka way over the limit and she looked at me and said, “sorry miss, that will be $50 unless you can fix it.” Well, you better believe that I argued that one. I went through four airports, three airlines, and all around Europe without any problems so why should I pay now? Not to mention my bags should’ve been checked through to DSM to begin with. She insisted that everyone else has the same rules but since I didn’t put anything else in them it shouldn’t have changed the weight. Anyway, I took my blanket out of my backpack and started stuffing scarves, shirts, and anything I could get out of my big bag. I only stuffed it about half full when she said, “ok, that’s good enough”. Excuse me?! I only put one pound into my bag. If you’re going to make me go through this huge hassle, threaten to make me pay and then unpack my life for the whole world to see, at least stick to your guns. I was furious needless to say.
So I got in line and went through security where they scrutinized my passport with an eyepiece and a blue light – practically the first time anyone’s even opened it up since I left the US and I even had to take my shoes off. It was pretty intense and I liked it! Somehow Mitch and Whitney ended up ahead of me in line even though they left the hotel after I did but we met up at the end of security and went to our gates. Their flight left 15 minutes after mine so we killed some time together.
Oops, sidenote - I forgot to mention that I had a slight digestive problem when I woke up and I’m putting my money on the burger. I hadn’t consumed red meat really at all since I left (unless you count Chorizo which is disgustingly red.. haha) and my system did not appreciate the half pound of beef that I demolished the night before.
Ok, so we also had breakfast vouchers for $10 each so we decided to give it a shot. We walked by a Cinnabon which smelled like heaven so we went to the counter and asked the lady if they accept them, assuming that it would be no problem. Well, she said they only credit the printed ones and that ours had to be used in the British Airways area (we were in American Airlines..) aka we had to go BACK to T5. Obviously that wasn’t going to happen. I wasn’t going to spend my money on it but Whitney was debating it and while we were standing there the lady looked at us said, “here, they’re only minis but take them”, and handed us a little box. We definitely said that she didn’t have to do that but she insisted and told us to scram. I love Midwestern people J We definitely pounded them and they were as delicious as ever.
So while we were sitting there they announced about 100 times, “Flight 1854 to Des Moines, we would like to warn you that the lavatory is out of order on this aircraft so please use the facilities before boarding.” Every single time the three of us laughed out loud because of my situation. Even though it was a little annoying, it was nice that they even use the intercom. They board by rows, have a last call, and even announce people’s names. We realized that the night before they were probably saying our names over and over – how nice!
So they went to their gate and I boarded the plane and laughed when I saw that my flight was delayed by 15 minutes. Not a significant amount of time, but of course that would happen. It was a tiny plane but I was just fine with sitting in my own row. There was this ridiculous guy behind me who had all sorts of weird comments and he was obviously talking to himself since he was in the very back in his own row. For example, when they announced the flight would be 57 minutes in duration he said, “chyeah!” and when we took off he said, “let’s do it!” I heard a couple swear words during some really mild turbulence but I did my best to block him out during the flight. However, that was next to impossible and I actually laughed out loud at him a couple times. I also laughed when the recording went through the safety stuff blah blah blah then said, “this aircraft is equipped with adjustable headrests, we hope you enjoy the extra comfort.” Why did I laugh? Because it was the exact same as all the crappy flights between DSM and O’Hare – not even a headrest in sight, let alone adjustable! Give me a break.
When we were flying over Des Moines to the airport I whipped out my camera like an Asian tourist and went crazy. It felt funny taking pictures of the place I live but the capital, river, and downtown were really pretty from the sky. Everything looked so green! I definitely got pretty teary-eyed but did my best to suck it up. It was such a weird mix of emotions – disbelief that I was actually home, disbelief that I wasn’t in Spain anymore, etc. I was so excited to see my family but it was also hard to realize that I might not see most of my friends from Spain again and if we did everything would be completely different. Bittersweet, I’d say.
So I got off the plane (didn’t have to walk outside!) and walking through the airport I had some mad flashbacks. I thought of all the times I’d been right there, especially January 16. I pictured myself saying goodbye to Mom, Dad, and Rob and sitting there in tears waiting to board my new adventure. At that time I was definitely thinking, “What am I doing? Why am I leaving for 4 ½ months? Can I do this? Remember Mexico?!” and when I remembered all those thoughts I laughed at myself and probably shed another tear. I stood there for just a minute, decided to go to the bathroom (obviously I had to go again) and compose myself before I went down. Laura and Andrea both warned me about this moment so I’m glad I was ready for it.
So, I got to the top of the escalator and immediately I saw everyone waiting for me at the bottom J Mom, Dad, Mandy, Laura, Kael, and Kylee – I’d say that’s a pretty good welcoming crew! They had signs, flowers, gifts, and even a mini cowbell haha. I got lots of big hugs and immediately everything was just like normal - it was as if I had never left. We snapped a few pictures then went to get my luggage which was actually there.
I came home with Mom and Dad, Mandy went back to work, and Laura and the kids went back to her house. I did some talking, unpacking, organizing, and relaxing which was probably the best thing I could do since there was a lot more fun to come in the next couple days. It was just so nice to be home!
Rob couldn’t be there until 5 or so since he had class but I was so excited to see him! It takes a minute to sort of reorient ourselves with each other after being apart for so long, but after that everything was just like normal. I don’t think I stopped smiling the whole day J
After that Dad came home then the rest of the crew came over. We had burgers and malts for dinner then I gave everyone their souvenirs. We had some trouble with Kylee’s shirt (of course) but Mom assured me in Italy that it would fit her! Anyway, I think everyone was pretty happy and I was just happy to be at home with everyone.
