Home. A very surreal experience – In a strange way, I feel very much like a visitor in my own life. Maybe it’s because I know this really is just a ‘visit’ and I will be returning to Australia in 15 days.
Duty-free Shop at SYD
As expected, the journey home was not without it challenges. I was surprised to feel a little sad to leave the place I called home the past six weeks. Then I remembered – oh yeah, I’m coming back. I had a chatty driver (still Middle Eastern) who wanted to know my life story. After asking me where I was from, he told me he didn’t know Nevada and wanted to know if that was part of California. Sometimes I wonder about that myself. He did manage to drop me off at the wrong terminal. It is just hard to imagine that someone is not flying Qantas. Not a big deal. Once I made my way to the international terminal, I was faced with the usual dilemma I have with a foreign airport – finding United in a sea of other carriers. You see, they don’t have the signage that an American airport has. They have screens with information however they are so similar it is hard to distinguish one from another. I should have known it would be on the farthest end. I had about 90 minutes, was hungry and of course, still had a few gifts to buy so it becomes a question of before or after (going through customs and security). I opted to do the customs thing. The line was long, but I did have a special express pass as a business class passenger. The only thing better was to be a pilot or flight attendant – they have priority over everyone as they walk up, open his or her passport ‘book’ and get the obligatory stamp ‘Departing Australia.’ I had to laugh as I walked through the duty-free store upon leaving customs. It’s one thing to do that at a theme park when you exit a ride, but to be forced to walk through a store filled with perfume, liquor and chocolates? C’mon now! My favourite is the 60” plasma tele. I can just imagine walking through the store, getting ready to board my flight and think “wait a minute, that’s what I forgot! I really need to buy that TV… after all, I won’t have to pay any GST (tax)“ and then whip out the Visa and buy it. Just seems like a strange purchase to make at an international airport. Of course, I quickly figured out I should have eaten on the other side. There were 2 options, neither were appealing. Oh well, more time for shopping. Only thing is, there wasn’t anything I wanted to buy.
Best.Drink.Ever.
On to Sydney. The flight is short (55 minutes) but due to heavy traffic, we spent an extra 35 minutes going out of our way to delay our landing in Sydney. This was eating into my meal time and the last opportunity to buy those gifts. (Oh and I forgot to mention, during this time I was caffeine-free.) At least it was a scenic detour. I’ll never get tired of flying into Sydney, it truly is a sight to see the Harbour Bridge and Opera House from the air. Upon exiting the plane, I headed straight to Gloria Jeans (the Australian version of Starbucks) got my Voltage and then remembered there are only two food options in Sydney’s International terminal as well. What’s the deal here? There is a full-blown food court in both Melbourne and Sydney’s domestic terminals. I guess they want you buying plasma televisions and liquor, not eating. I did manage to accomplish two out of three tasks so I was fairly happy.
But then it started. First was a plane change. Still a 747 but a different configuration – so it meant reassigning seats. I went from a window seat to a backwards middle aisle seat. Still, it is in business so I shouldn’t complain. Well, when the person next to you has the world’s smallest bladder, then maybe you can complain just a little. I swear I had to get up every 30 minutes. If it wasn’t to use the lavatory it was to get into the overhead locker. He actually dropped his bag on me once without so much as an apology. Of course now I realize I should have just swapped seats with him. DUH! Movie selection was subpar as was the food selection but there was little turbulence and we landed right-side up and when you fly, that’s what really matters. I certainly was more comfortable than the people stuffed into the back of the plane. Gotta keep it all in perspective.
Which is what I had to remind myself once I got to San Francisco… time and time again. I am alive, I am healthy, I have a great job, and I’m very soon I’m going to see my kids as I sit and wait for my delayed flight. After what felt like an eternity (3 + hours), we boarded our regional jet for the quick hop over to Reno. As luck would have it, I had an older woman sitting next to me who was wheelchair bound so I waited an additional 15 minutes after the last passenger exited for the ground crew to get her an aisle chair. At that point I wasn’t concerned, after all I had been travelling for almost 24 hours so what was a few more minutes?
The kids (and Jeni) were waiting anxiously for me just past security. Both their faces lit up as they ran up to greet me with big hugs. Again, Murphy had to have the last laugh I realized that only one of my bags made the flight. Sigh. Fortunately for me, my second bag (the one with all the gifts) was on the next flight and was landing in 10 minutes. So we waited. 30 minutes later here comes bag number 2 and we’re off to Taco Johns. Next stop was Starbucks, as in ‘my’ Starbucks. It was a great reunion – it was a lot like Norm walking into Cheers.
It is strange being back in the states. Sunday I drove for the first time in over six weeks. I realized then that I didn’t miss it at all and how nice it is to jump on a train and not worry about traffic. I found myself more stressed and swearing (sorry, mom) than I ever was in Australia. I find myself comparing everything to Australia and I have to say it is much more relaxing for me down under. If only everyone would move with me, I’d be content to stay there forever. In fact, when anyone asks me when I’m going back, I kept saying “I go home on September 13.” Then I remember. I AM HOME. Oops! Really, it is good to be home but I look forward to returning to Australia soon.
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