9 August 2005
14 August 2005 @ 19:26
9 August 2005
Well, I'm here. Unfortunately, my checked baggage isn't. But considering that I caught the plane to S�o Paulo that I wasn't supposed to be on...it figures.
See, my flight out of Pittsburgh was delayed because the plane we were supposed to take to Dallas just wasn't there. I think we got off the ground 15-20 minutes late, or more. Then, we had to avert a thunderstorm that was surrounding the Dallas airport. When we finally landed I had about 15 minutes to get off the plane I was on, run to my next gate, and board the plane to S�o Paulo. Yeah, wasn't going to happen. However...the same storm kept the planes in Dallas grounded, which was good. The plane to Sao Paulo was delayed for 15 minutes, so I was able to board. We landed about 10 minutes late at the airport here, but, worse things have happened.
After standing in the very very long line at immigration (but not getting fingerprinted -- what gives? ah, I'm not going to complain!) I waited for my bags. They didn't come, and they didn't come and they didn't come. I watched the same pieces of luggage go around several times, but not a sign of either one of my bags. Not good.
I waited in line to fill out a form, and then yet another line to go through customs. All of this probably took close to an hour.
I felt like shit when I finally met up with Andre and told him that we needed to stay in S�o Jos� dos Campos for the night so my bags would be delievered to me the next day. But hey, I wasn't even supposed to be on that plane to S�o Paulo, sooo...it's okay. I'm here, all of the electronic goodies that I smuggled in are here, and Andre's Tia Fran gave me clothes to sleep in.
There is a good side to all of this -- I got to spend time with Dudu, Fran, and JP. The four of us sat in Dudu's room, chatting, bullshitting and watching Andr� play PS2.
"Ten dollars! Ten dollars!"
"No! Nove! You already have one!"
Yeah, this might not be my home. I might not be able to communicate with most of the people around me. And yet? This feels like home. Ded� and I might be the odd couple here -- me, the tall white American with a tan and him, the moreno with green eyes -- but I feel like I belong. It might not be home, but it could very easily be.
At� mais,
--Annie