oh traveling

i guess that thinking that all four of my flights to buenos aires would go off with no problems was stupid. got to LAX just fine (previous) only to find out my flight to chicago was delayed. no huge worries, but then just before we landed, they announce that those of us going to buenos aires need to talk to a representative when we land because the flight is leaving, not at 8 pm tonight, but at 8 am tomorrow. huh? so i get off, look for a representative, and, in the madness that always ensues when one gets off a plane, i couldn't find anyone. so i headed off to the gate and there's no one there either.

so i start wandering around trying to find someone who will tell me what the hell is going on, and eventually end up at the baggage claim where they tell me my luggage will just be on the next plane, and no i can't get retrieve it. and still no info about why the flight is delayed, what's actually going on, nothing.

by this time ... i had been traveling for somewhere around 30 hours. i was tired, hungry, confused.

and in these sort of situations all i want to do is talk to my parents and have them tell me what to do.

but i don't have a mobile anymore. which makes calling rather difficult. no one could change my pesos, so i had to get money out and then buy something to get change to use a pay phone (who uses pay phones anymore?!?!) because no one would open their cash register until i bought something. and then the freakin' pay phones kept saying that my parents' number was invalid (what?!?!) and i wasted a good $3 trying to call them. the wireless in chicago uses a different wireless than that in los angeles, so i had to pay another $9 to get online so i could call my parents. who knew not having a mobile could be such a pain in the ass? thank god skype exists.

by the time i finally got a hold of them, i was a wreck.

thankfully i have the best parents in the world and they called american airlines and found out that it wasn't a weather delay but a mechanical one and that i should have been given a hotel, food vouchers, and so on. so where exactly were all these people to help me when i actually got off the plane? who knows ...

i finally tracked down someone (it was past 10 at this point) and they gave me a free room at the plaza. and i took TWO half hour burning hot showers (beginning the process of washing off the grime from the past six months. you just don't feel as clean with a cold bucket shower) and slept on the most comfortable bed in the entire world (only for about four hours, but still).

and my meal voucher bought me starbucks this morning.

so in the end, i suppose it's all ok. i'm losing a precious day in buenos aires, but ... now i'll be able to just go to sleep when i arrive and wake up refreshed the next day.

in transit

i am currently in los angeles.

oh my god i am so close to home.

i just signed onto instant messenger and i feel like i'm in another world. i'm online on my own computer. oh my goodness this is so weird.

you know you're back in civilization when the bathrooms have SEATS on the toilets and there's TOILET PAPER and you don't have to throw it in the trash can and then there are sinks and they actually work and hot water comes out and there's soap and EVERYTHING.

plus there are so many white people around i can't believe it. i've gotten so used to doing the "hello fellow white person" nod that to have so many around is really overwhelming. i'm also a good four shades darker than everyone else around here.

i think i've been gone too long ...

one 15 hour trip down, one more to go!

goodbye

i am leaving the philippines. incredible, really. after wishing so much for this day to come, now that it is actually here, i am quite sad to leave. somehow in the midst of all the challenges and frustrations, i actually fell in love with this place.

i feel strange about leaving. and i don't know how to express most of my thoughts or feelings about it. i am excited about going to south america and beginning something new, the next phase in my life, but sad at leaving this place that has in many ways become another home.

the past six months have been such a mixture of good and bad experiences. i don't know if i'll ever be able to convey how much they have meant to me. these little lists will suffice for now:

things i won't miss:
- "let's eat" and "eat more"
- that beautiful girl song
- roosters
- the general lack of responsibility and accountability
- no one asking how i am or how my day was
- instant coffee
- all the bugs and having to wear insect repellant all the time
- no seat on the toilets / toilet paper / flush / ability to wash hands after
- the smell of copras
- being leered at / the men in general

things i will miss:
- ate cecille's laugh
- high-fiving sally and mycel over inside jokes
- sitting behind bagyo on his trike and chatting
- coconuts
- walking out back in the morning to watch the sunrise
- the resthouse
- "ate (big sister) alexis, what is your name?"
- ken kissing my cheek and giving me a big hug when i come home
- being ate
- the dogs following me everywhere
- meeting new volunteers
- the deli / romblon / mango shakes
- the sanctuary
- the outline of bangkas against the water
- travel by boat
- foods: sarsa, kalamansi, wing beans, mungo beans, jackfruit, atis, mangos
- my multiple families
- the kids in sugod yelling at me every time i go by