#56 Flying Home
It is finally time to fly home. The thought of seeing my family and returning to my old life excites me. Nevertheless, there is a long travel day in the meanwhile. I left my dorm room at 6:30 Milan time and arrived in LAX at 7:30 that night Pacific time. After a cab ride and the usual Malpensa route, I went to check in my luggage. The clerk said my bags were too heavy. Since they were ten pounds too heavy each, I would have take the bullet and get one bag overweight charged. I redistributed the weight of my suitcases and threw out my mom’s shampoo and laundry detergent to get the bags check in. However, I got charged another $50 fee for having a second bag. I complained because I did not have this charge during my arrival, but nothing amounted from it. Knowing I would not eat crummy airplane food I ate two large blueberry muffins for breakfast. I went to the FOREX shop to exchange my extra euros, but there terms were preposterous. Airport FOREX dealers hustle you more than pool players at a dive bar. They not only charged an eight cent bid ask spread along with an eleven percent commission and four euro service charge on top of that. I examined at my receipt and did the math and then traded my money back in frustration. Hopefully, my bank can give me a more legitimate exchange rate. The usual airport routine followed of walking through security and listening to podcasts at the gate.
Unfortunately I had to sit towards the back of the plane. During the beginning of the flight I talked to Pennsylvanian man in the export business about travel, European economics, podcasting, and generation theory. I have learned from my four months overseas, wherever I am, that the best way to have a positive conversation about travel. Anybody with an ounce of culture, loves to talk travel and has something interesting to say about where they have visited. This topic can also segway to almost anything and can present positive aspects of yourself without sounding like you are bragging. For the rest of the flight I watched Madagascar 2 which ended up being funny like the first one. I then spent the rest of the eight hour flight writing and editing this book.
Country #13 United States of America
I landed at JFK airport feeling grateful to be back in North America. It felt good to be back in the states, but this was in reality the halfway checkpoint. Customs were easy and they did not even care that I declared food products. Since there were no other place to get a cheeseburger, I ended up going to McDonalds again for lunch. When I get back to California, one of the things I want to do is eat a good quality cheeseburger, but it had to wait at JFK. My phone now worked again so I called my family and some of my friends during the layover. I then waited at the terminal to find out that my flight was delayed thirty minutes. We finally boarded the flight around 4:00 eastern, and I sat at the very back on the plane. This flight was agonizingly boring. I could not sleep on the plane do the vertical seat and both my computer and iPod died halfway through the flight. American Airlines also played a stupid teen movie called Bandslam that I did even bother to watch along with NBC sitcoms which I disliked as well. I do not understand hoe people watch TV outside of live events. It’s very predictable and not entertaining. The only television programs I watch are sports, Glenn Beck, and the occasional documentary on the History Channel. Then at 7:10 PM Pacific, I landed in LAX, and my long day of travel was over.
Destination #23 Newport Beach/Greater Los Angeles, California
Even though the flight took off nearly an hour late, I landed in LA twenty minutes early. I power walked through the gates. I then grabbed my luggage and found my mother and my brother waiting for me at their car on the side of the curb. It was great to see my family again and back home. However, my time at home will not last for long. Within four days, I will board a cruise ship to the Panama Canal. The idea of Christmas on a boat will be strange, but exciting as well. Until I embark to Panama, I am just going to catch up some business and enjoy my brief return to Newport Beach. This book is about my international travels, so I will spare you the details (I may add it to the book if requested).
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