Thank you all for reading.
Thank you all for your comments and emails.
Thank you all for being with me on this incredible journey.
Thank you to my co-workers, you guys have been AMAZING with your countless emails and blog messages.
Thank you for those who allowed me to do this (you know who you are).
Thank you to my parents (dad won't be thanking me when he sees mom's credit card bill).
Thank you to the Roane's for your excellent hospitality. If you decide to come back, you always have a babysitter in the States.
Thank you to Colella, Cassie, Amy, Amanduh, Elena, and Lisa for your emails and myspace messages. Little notes like that make your day better when you're so far away.
Thank you Mrs. M for your updates! I hope you had a good time in Germany!
I have had the time of my life and each and every one of you has encouraged me and told me to do this. I couldn't have done it without your support and emails. More people have read this blog then I could have ever imagined. Thank you all for joining me on my journey, it has been an amazing ride.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
I have arrived... home
As I sit here at my house typing this and I can't believe this will be my last blog. I feel like I have been gone for ages and home is extremely surreal right now. I will be honest and say that I am not exactly excited to be here. I assumed I'd be like this, but being home is such a strange feeling right now. I haven't slept for two days... March 31st proved to be the longest day of my life as well as the most tiring day of my life.
Fijians have no concept of urgency. They are more laid back then the Kiwis and the Aussies. Thank god my plane left at 10:45pm because it took me 3 hours to get to the damn airport.
Me (4:00pm): The boat will come at 4:30?
Fijian Guy (4:00pm): Yes, boat comes at 4:30.
Me (4:55pm): It's 5pm. Where's the boat?
Fijian Guy (4:55pm): 5 minutes, 5 minutes.
Me (5:15pm): Umm so is the boat coming any time soon?
Fijian Guy: Yes, 5 more minutes.
FINALLY the boat comes. So we take a catamaran to the boat. Then the boat proceeds to stop at 3 other islands on the way to the mainland. Around 6:30 we get to Port Denaru on the mainland. Howard, Lily and I contemplate taking the free shuttle bus that stops ever 5 feet and takes 30 minutes to get to the airport. I look at them and say, screw this, let's get a taxi. We jump into this van from 1962 and take the bumpiest ride that I've ever experienced to the airport.
I check in, then board the plane for the planeride of death. I made myself stay awake the entire time because when I flew into LA it would be day time and I wanted to try to adjust my body to sleeping at the right time. Casino Royale, Happy Feet, and some Russel Crowe movie later I have like 6 hours to go. The rest of my time is spent listening to a screaming 4 year old and praying that I never have children. I think myself and the girl next to me actually contemplated trying to open the emergency exit door and tossing the kid out. The parents didn't even attempt to quiet the child, they just sat there. We land in LA and I am not very happy.
I stay not very happy. I get to the US Airways desk only to find that my flight to Phoenix has been cancelled. I stay calm. I act nice and try to make myself understand that it is not this girl's fault. I meet a guy named Steven who just flew in from Malaysia. He is in the same boat as me. He acts calm and also tries to make to understand that it is not this girl's fault. We get shoved in a corner while some supervisor tries to book us on another flight to Phoenix. 2 hours have now passed. Steven and I are told by the girl that we are booked on Southwest to Phoenix. Now we have to stand back in line and wait for US Air to write us checks for Southwest. Steven and I are starting to get antsy. If we stay in line then our seats on Southwest could be taken by a random walk-up person who is in line at the Southwest counter. We get waited on by the supervisor. Oops, sorry, all seats are booked. I say, hell with Phoenix, can you get me to Philly? No sorry, all flights are booked solid. Earliest I can get out is Monday I'll put you on that flight. I say, I am not staying here until Monday. I ask to fly to Newark. She gives me attitude and says, "It's probably booked solid." I say, "well can you probably get on your computer and check?" I have to ask her twice. I am now becoming not-so-nice. I tell her I am leaving today and she is going to find me a flight and I don't care what she has to do to get me on it.
After much yelling and cursing by both Steven and me because this supervisor, who by no means should have ever been promoted to supervisor, we finally get checks for Southwest because there was a communication problem and we really do have seats-blah-blah-blah-freakin-blah. Steven runs to Southwest to stand in line while I am finishing my paperwork. I meet Steven and completely cut in front of 20-some people pretending to be his wife and no one says a word (whew). Now we have to pray that all the seats aren't booked up before we get there because Southwest is first-come first-serve AKA organized chaos. We wait another 30 minutes in line... we are counting the time and hoping we get seats along with not missing the flight along with cursing US Air under our breath. WE GET SEATS!!!! We check our bags and go to security. The line getting though security stretches longer than the Mississippi River. We sigh and pray we make our flight. Security girl looks at both our boarding passes... WE HAVE TWO QUAD R's!!! Yeah you're going to have to go through the maximum security check. We sigh again and try not to cry. I ask for my film to not go through the x-ray machine and to be handchecked. We go through this air blowing machine. Flip-flops off. Clothes off. Bags searched and rifled through. Little cotton swab squares are brushed all over my belongings and are put into a machine that beeps alot. Film has to be hand checked. Every roll of film has to be taken out of its canister and checked. I have about 40 rolls of film. I try to not cry again. Steven gets through security before me because he's smart and has moved to the digital age. I HAVE to continue to be "artsy" and still use film. Maximum Security check is a blessing in disguise. We get through it faster than the regular security check. We get our first break of the day. We go have a beer.
A fight between a guy sitting in front of me on the plane and the flight attendent breaks out. The flight attendent asks the man to step off the plane to talk. The man refuses. For a minute I thought this guy was going to be a security threat and they weren't going to let the plane even get in the air. Issues are resolved. We get to Phoenix. I get my bag, thank Steven for all his help (because I could not have gotten there without his help) and I go to check in at US Air. I arrive at the desk and people are yelling. Everyone is yelling. Not one person has a smile. My heart drops and I realize that by the looks of this I am not making it home tonight. I wait in line for over an hour. People are raging mad because US Air has overbooked all the flights and they don't have seats, along with cancelling other flights (I feel their pain). I finally make it to the counter. The girl tells me I have no confirmed seat. I stay calm. I act nice and try to make myself understand that it is not this girl's fault. I say I've had these seats since September, how can it not be confirmed? She checks the computer. I have you on a flight out of LA on Monday she says. I look bewildered. I remember back to the supervisor who shouldn't have been a supervisor. I tell her about her putting me on that flight. The IDIOT wasn't supposed to confirm it! I want to yell. She could have possibly caused me to not have a seat. The girl keeps typing. Typing. Typing. Typing. You're in. I rejoice. A man next to me trying to get to Denver slaps me a high-five and he yells well at least someone is getting on a plane tonight. You go girl! The girl is trying to print my baggage stickers. The baggage machine breaks. WHAT ELSE IS GOING TO GO WRONG TODAY??? I have to wait another 10-15 minutes for luggage tickets. Bag gets checked and I'm going home! I don't care if my bag doesn't arrive, I am headed home.
What else is going to go wrong today? Let me tell you... a drunk guy sits behind me on the plane and keeps kicking my seat. I want to throw him out the emergency exit as well as the small child from earlier. He stinks like vodka. The flight attendent actually has to cut him off. He starts snoring. Not like a little snore, but a full blown chainsaw snore. I want to be back in Fiji. I want to be in OZ. I want to be in New Zealand. I want to be anywhere but here. I want to commit suicide the smell is so bad. I don't sleep a wink. I haven't slept since March 31st Fiji time... that was two days ago. I am so tired that I can't even sleep. I arrive in Philadelphia. My bag DOES arrive. I claim it then head to the bathroom. I walk in to a woman standing in pants and no shirt and she is hugging the hand dryer on the wall. I see her boobs... gross, I grimace and get out of there as fast as I can. I walk outside to find Mike waiting for me. I pass a guy in a QVC Q-Force t-shirt. I am tempted to say something to him but I am so cracked out at the moment that I opt not to. By the looks of me he might mistake me for a homeless person begging for change. I'm in the car and on my way home. Back to reality. Back to work. Back to life. It was so much fun being someone else for 3 months. Being a traveler is an addicting life.
Fijians have no concept of urgency. They are more laid back then the Kiwis and the Aussies. Thank god my plane left at 10:45pm because it took me 3 hours to get to the damn airport.
Me (4:00pm): The boat will come at 4:30?
Fijian Guy (4:00pm): Yes, boat comes at 4:30.
Me (4:55pm): It's 5pm. Where's the boat?
Fijian Guy (4:55pm): 5 minutes, 5 minutes.
Me (5:15pm): Umm so is the boat coming any time soon?
Fijian Guy: Yes, 5 more minutes.
FINALLY the boat comes. So we take a catamaran to the boat. Then the boat proceeds to stop at 3 other islands on the way to the mainland. Around 6:30 we get to Port Denaru on the mainland. Howard, Lily and I contemplate taking the free shuttle bus that stops ever 5 feet and takes 30 minutes to get to the airport. I look at them and say, screw this, let's get a taxi. We jump into this van from 1962 and take the bumpiest ride that I've ever experienced to the airport.
I check in, then board the plane for the planeride of death. I made myself stay awake the entire time because when I flew into LA it would be day time and I wanted to try to adjust my body to sleeping at the right time. Casino Royale, Happy Feet, and some Russel Crowe movie later I have like 6 hours to go. The rest of my time is spent listening to a screaming 4 year old and praying that I never have children. I think myself and the girl next to me actually contemplated trying to open the emergency exit door and tossing the kid out. The parents didn't even attempt to quiet the child, they just sat there. We land in LA and I am not very happy.
I stay not very happy. I get to the US Airways desk only to find that my flight to Phoenix has been cancelled. I stay calm. I act nice and try to make myself understand that it is not this girl's fault. I meet a guy named Steven who just flew in from Malaysia. He is in the same boat as me. He acts calm and also tries to make to understand that it is not this girl's fault. We get shoved in a corner while some supervisor tries to book us on another flight to Phoenix. 2 hours have now passed. Steven and I are told by the girl that we are booked on Southwest to Phoenix. Now we have to stand back in line and wait for US Air to write us checks for Southwest. Steven and I are starting to get antsy. If we stay in line then our seats on Southwest could be taken by a random walk-up person who is in line at the Southwest counter. We get waited on by the supervisor. Oops, sorry, all seats are booked. I say, hell with Phoenix, can you get me to Philly? No sorry, all flights are booked solid. Earliest I can get out is Monday I'll put you on that flight. I say, I am not staying here until Monday. I ask to fly to Newark. She gives me attitude and says, "It's probably booked solid." I say, "well can you probably get on your computer and check?" I have to ask her twice. I am now becoming not-so-nice. I tell her I am leaving today and she is going to find me a flight and I don't care what she has to do to get me on it.
After much yelling and cursing by both Steven and me because this supervisor, who by no means should have ever been promoted to supervisor, we finally get checks for Southwest because there was a communication problem and we really do have seats-blah-blah-blah-freakin-blah. Steven runs to Southwest to stand in line while I am finishing my paperwork. I meet Steven and completely cut in front of 20-some people pretending to be his wife and no one says a word (whew). Now we have to pray that all the seats aren't booked up before we get there because Southwest is first-come first-serve AKA organized chaos. We wait another 30 minutes in line... we are counting the time and hoping we get seats along with not missing the flight along with cursing US Air under our breath. WE GET SEATS!!!! We check our bags and go to security. The line getting though security stretches longer than the Mississippi River. We sigh and pray we make our flight. Security girl looks at both our boarding passes... WE HAVE TWO QUAD R's!!! Yeah you're going to have to go through the maximum security check. We sigh again and try not to cry. I ask for my film to not go through the x-ray machine and to be handchecked. We go through this air blowing machine. Flip-flops off. Clothes off. Bags searched and rifled through. Little cotton swab squares are brushed all over my belongings and are put into a machine that beeps alot. Film has to be hand checked. Every roll of film has to be taken out of its canister and checked. I have about 40 rolls of film. I try to not cry again. Steven gets through security before me because he's smart and has moved to the digital age. I HAVE to continue to be "artsy" and still use film. Maximum Security check is a blessing in disguise. We get through it faster than the regular security check. We get our first break of the day. We go have a beer.
A fight between a guy sitting in front of me on the plane and the flight attendent breaks out. The flight attendent asks the man to step off the plane to talk. The man refuses. For a minute I thought this guy was going to be a security threat and they weren't going to let the plane even get in the air. Issues are resolved. We get to Phoenix. I get my bag, thank Steven for all his help (because I could not have gotten there without his help) and I go to check in at US Air. I arrive at the desk and people are yelling. Everyone is yelling. Not one person has a smile. My heart drops and I realize that by the looks of this I am not making it home tonight. I wait in line for over an hour. People are raging mad because US Air has overbooked all the flights and they don't have seats, along with cancelling other flights (I feel their pain). I finally make it to the counter. The girl tells me I have no confirmed seat. I stay calm. I act nice and try to make myself understand that it is not this girl's fault. I say I've had these seats since September, how can it not be confirmed? She checks the computer. I have you on a flight out of LA on Monday she says. I look bewildered. I remember back to the supervisor who shouldn't have been a supervisor. I tell her about her putting me on that flight. The IDIOT wasn't supposed to confirm it! I want to yell. She could have possibly caused me to not have a seat. The girl keeps typing. Typing. Typing. Typing. You're in. I rejoice. A man next to me trying to get to Denver slaps me a high-five and he yells well at least someone is getting on a plane tonight. You go girl! The girl is trying to print my baggage stickers. The baggage machine breaks. WHAT ELSE IS GOING TO GO WRONG TODAY??? I have to wait another 10-15 minutes for luggage tickets. Bag gets checked and I'm going home! I don't care if my bag doesn't arrive, I am headed home.
What else is going to go wrong today? Let me tell you... a drunk guy sits behind me on the plane and keeps kicking my seat. I want to throw him out the emergency exit as well as the small child from earlier. He stinks like vodka. The flight attendent actually has to cut him off. He starts snoring. Not like a little snore, but a full blown chainsaw snore. I want to be back in Fiji. I want to be in OZ. I want to be in New Zealand. I want to be anywhere but here. I want to commit suicide the smell is so bad. I don't sleep a wink. I haven't slept since March 31st Fiji time... that was two days ago. I am so tired that I can't even sleep. I arrive in Philadelphia. My bag DOES arrive. I claim it then head to the bathroom. I walk in to a woman standing in pants and no shirt and she is hugging the hand dryer on the wall. I see her boobs... gross, I grimace and get out of there as fast as I can. I walk outside to find Mike waiting for me. I pass a guy in a QVC Q-Force t-shirt. I am tempted to say something to him but I am so cracked out at the moment that I opt not to. By the looks of me he might mistake me for a homeless person begging for change. I'm in the car and on my way home. Back to reality. Back to work. Back to life. It was so much fun being someone else for 3 months. Being a traveler is an addicting life.
Rest of Fiji
Fiji was a great way to end the trip. After braving the worst boatride ever to the Beachcomber Island (wrote about it in the last blog) I sat on the beach all week and just chilled out. I ending up meeting a guy from England named Rory and hung out with him for a few days. He was an absolute laugh and a half, so he was good company. We also hung out with a girl from Brisbane named Kath. I didn't mesh with her personality very well as she was quite boring and didn't really have much to say. You know when you have awkward silences with people? Yeah Rory and I had awkward silences with Kath every 5 minutes. Rory was so much fun though and he made my week go pretty fast.
Everyone on the island goes swimming after the bar closes (probably not the best idea) and one night he and I were in the water talking about music and playing silly games like "the island game". If you were stuck on an island and could bring one book, one song, and one luxury, what would you bring? I chose, To Kill a Mockingbird, Better Together by Jack Johnson, and Pizza. Rory swayed my luxury choice after he chose Q-tips. That's when we both discovered that we are obsessed with clean ears (random fact about me that you probably don't want to know). At one point we're swimming around and this huge thing swoops over my head... and I'm like Whoa, was that a bird? Rory's like, umm no, actually I think it's quite a large bat! And the thing comes swooping back down at us and is flying around above the water. It quickly went away, but it was just freaky... it was like when we were in Sydney and saw the bats hanging from the trees...GROSS!
On Wednesday I met Sean, my first American in weeks other than my mom. Sean was actually the only American that I hung out with on my entire trip. It was nice to meet up with someone who knew what Reese's Cups, cheesesteaks, and Rita's Waterice are! My last full day in Fiji Sean and I rented ocean kayaks and kayaked around the island and to Treasure Island, an island not too far away. Treasure Island had a baby sea turtle pond and we got to pick up and pet sea turtles.
The last few days at Beachcomber Sean, Rory and I made friends with Tom, Alley, Howard, and Lily some other people in our bunk. Doing Borat impressions and acting like idiots at all times became absolutely necessary. VERY NICE! Our last night there at the bar we had a "bad dancing only" dance party and proceeded to master the can opener, the shopping cart, the fishing pole, the sprinkler, the Borat dance, the Hammer dance, and every other absurd dance move you could possibly think of. Everyone else who wasn't in our bunk thought we were complete idiots, it was hilarious.
If I could have done it again, I wouldn't have made my stay in Fiji as long as I did. It was worth it, and I didn't have to wear shoes for a week, but it was a little long to be on an island that takes 10 minutes to walk around. I kind of got island fever, if there is such a thing. I discovered that snorkeling just wasn't my game so I pretty much read all day and laid on the beach. It can get kind of boring after a while. Minus "Awkward Silence Kath", I had good company for most of the time I was there, so it all worked out in the end.
Everyone on the island goes swimming after the bar closes (probably not the best idea) and one night he and I were in the water talking about music and playing silly games like "the island game". If you were stuck on an island and could bring one book, one song, and one luxury, what would you bring? I chose, To Kill a Mockingbird, Better Together by Jack Johnson, and Pizza. Rory swayed my luxury choice after he chose Q-tips. That's when we both discovered that we are obsessed with clean ears (random fact about me that you probably don't want to know). At one point we're swimming around and this huge thing swoops over my head... and I'm like Whoa, was that a bird? Rory's like, umm no, actually I think it's quite a large bat! And the thing comes swooping back down at us and is flying around above the water. It quickly went away, but it was just freaky... it was like when we were in Sydney and saw the bats hanging from the trees...GROSS!
On Wednesday I met Sean, my first American in weeks other than my mom. Sean was actually the only American that I hung out with on my entire trip. It was nice to meet up with someone who knew what Reese's Cups, cheesesteaks, and Rita's Waterice are! My last full day in Fiji Sean and I rented ocean kayaks and kayaked around the island and to Treasure Island, an island not too far away. Treasure Island had a baby sea turtle pond and we got to pick up and pet sea turtles.
The last few days at Beachcomber Sean, Rory and I made friends with Tom, Alley, Howard, and Lily some other people in our bunk. Doing Borat impressions and acting like idiots at all times became absolutely necessary. VERY NICE! Our last night there at the bar we had a "bad dancing only" dance party and proceeded to master the can opener, the shopping cart, the fishing pole, the sprinkler, the Borat dance, the Hammer dance, and every other absurd dance move you could possibly think of. Everyone else who wasn't in our bunk thought we were complete idiots, it was hilarious.
If I could have done it again, I wouldn't have made my stay in Fiji as long as I did. It was worth it, and I didn't have to wear shoes for a week, but it was a little long to be on an island that takes 10 minutes to walk around. I kind of got island fever, if there is such a thing. I discovered that snorkeling just wasn't my game so I pretty much read all day and laid on the beach. It can get kind of boring after a while. Minus "Awkward Silence Kath", I had good company for most of the time I was there, so it all worked out in the end.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
