The Journey Begins

Monday, September 8th, 2008


The journey begins today. “All of my bags are packed and I’m ready to go,” just a couple more heartfelt goodbyes and I’ll be on with the show! Bad rhyme, I apologize. Up until today, it did not really hit me that I was leaving. I have been saying goodbye to people for weeks now, and at times I got a little worked up, but was always the hidden crier. Today, however, my emotions ran wild. I am guessing my lack of sleep the nights before may have had a little something special to add to it as well. It started when I left my house, I had to say goodbye to Ringo. Tear, tear, heaving tear. Then I picked up my Grandma who had some amazing and uplifting things to say about me and keeping my faith. Please do not tell her this, but I lied to her. She asked me if I packed my mustard seed (even with faith as small as a mustard seed, great things can be accomplished), I told her I did. Truth is, it is sitting in my special sea shell box, above my bed, in the room my dad built me after I moved to college. Please don’t tell her I physically do not have it. I carry it in my heart everyday.


On the ride to the airport, I finally figured out a way to discretely ask my Grandma about a time in her life that no one is supposed to know about. Once again, I was amazed at her story, her memory and the hardships she had to face. She is such a remarkable woman. Now if you want to know the dirt, you better find your own discrete way to ask her.....but please do not tell her that I sent you!


At the airport, mind you the small airport, I met a man who had served two terms with the Peace Corps. He was actually headed back to Bangkok to visit one of the areas he had served. He had a lot of positive things to say, as well as some that scared my mom including some fun ones about dengue fever. He also showed us some of his pictures. I would have loved to continue talking to him, but my brother and two nieces walked in, and as normal, they won my attention.


We took what felt like a million pictures and threw some pennies in the wishing fountain. Augusta wished for her Auntie to come back safe with one penny, and with another one she wished to swim around with her Auntie. Then she threw in about five more pennies to really make the wishes come true, or maybe it was just for fun – she is only three (and a half)!


We then ate breakfast at the airport, exchanged teary eyed goodbyes, bear hugs and sloppy kisses, and then I was off.


Naturally it was much more emotional then I am letting on, but I thought I would spare you the emotional details. I will however say that I cried pretty much the whole way to Minneapolis. Especially when I saw my family - my fan club, standing outside the building, by the fence next to the runway, waving and cheering me off. Mom was even jumping up and down. Bonsai!


Flying always reminds me of my Grandma. This is because the first flight that always comes to mind when I board a plane is a flight Grandma and I took from Rhinelander, WI to Minneapolis, MN. This was probably the scariest airplane ride that I have ever been on. Needless to say, Rhinelander is a tiny airport, therefore, the airplane we traveled upon was also tiny. We were also traveling through quite the storm. There was lightning and thunder and extreme turbulence. In my mind it was comparable to being in a washing machine. We moved in circles – up, down, all around, it was nauseating! I was terrified. By the time we landed safely, and got off the plane, my poor Grandma’s arms were black and blue from me squeezing her so tight! Sorry again Grandma!


While waiting for my plane in Minneapolis I decided to take a break from my last minute reading that I was supposed to have done for my Peace Corps Training, and listen to some music. (Thanks Jason for helping me figure out technology!) Anyways, I think I was still a little tired, and emotional all because I got all worked up again while listening to a Michael Jackson song. In fact I wrote down the lyrics in my journal. Yeah, I am that cool.


“If you want to make the world a better place,
take a look at yourself and then make a change”


I will be happy to send a postcard to the first person who can tell me the name of the song that is from!


My flight to L.A. was a little more dry-eyed and eventful. I slept the first couple of hours, and then read most of the rest. Note, I did not say the events were exciting! Although I did have an interesting talk with the people sitting next to me. The good looking gentleman, who hogged my armrest a little too much, was also a world traveler who’s sister served in the Peace Corps in Romania. He never went to visit her. He did however travel around the world (he just spent nine months in Moscow, living in a hotel that cost his company $500 a night!), looking for places to build new Nestle factories. In fact, he was out in the L.A. area looking for a suitable place between here and Las Vegas to build a new factory. Every time we flew over a large amount of water he thought it was funny to say “that looks like a good place to build a factory, we could suck up all that water easy!” I thought it would have been funny if I punched him in his eye. He then offered me a ride to Pasadena when I told him my ride was going to be late picking me up. Hmmmm, that sounds like a lot of fun!?!


The lady on the other side of eager arm boy was a little more exciting to talk to. She was on her way to L.A. because her daughter was a top twenty finalist on some America’s Has Talent show. Sorry mom, her daughter wasn’t the four year old. Her daughter was 25, sang, and played the guitar. Cheer her on, her mom was funny.


It is funny how traveling makes you think such random thoughts. I think everyone could probably be a poet if they traveled all the time. Not saying I am going to do poetry now, it is just a had a lot of fun thoughts while in the air. Lucky for you I did not write them down, I had other priorities, like sleep!


I did however, reminisce about my last experience in L.A. and concluded that this time around the city of smog will be totally different. For example, last time I was here I came by train, this time, by plane. Last time I left L.A. to tour our country. This time I will be moving to a new country. Last time I traveled by limo, played V.I.P. and rubbed elbows with Paris Hilton, two nights in a row. This time, I don’t know who I am going to meet, but I have a feeling they are going to be a better quality than Paris! Last time, well to put it bluntly, things got a little wild. This time the wild takes on a whole new meaning!


Well, I have been up since 4:30 (L.A. time – 6:30 WI) and it is now 10am in WI. I am going to wake up Stacy