Home Sweet Home

I had quite a looooooooong adventure coming home, but now I am safe and sound in Chicago. My first two flights went very smoothly, but when I arrived in Miami at 6 AM on Friday morning, I was glad to be on the last leg of my trip. At that point, I had no idea what I was in for.

First, I learned that my flight from Miami to Chicago was delayed because the crew had not yet arrived. Then, when we finally boarded the plane and tried to take off, the pilot discovered mechanical problems with the aircraft. We waited on the plane for 90 minutes while they tried to figure out what was wrong. Once the plane was "fixed," the captain announced that we'd have to wait another 90 minutes until the weather cleared in Chicago. After a total of 3 hours on the plane, they announced that they were canceling the flight because as it turned out, the plane wasn't actually fixed. Sketchy.

Once I got back into the airport, I sprinted to the customer service desk to get on another flight. An American Airlines agent found a spot for me on a plane that was leaving in 15 minutes, and I arrived at the gate just in time. I was incredibly relieved. But my bad luck wasn't over yet. The captain on my new plane announced that we'd be delayed 90 minutes because there were storms in Chicago. Apparently, 90 minute delays were the theme of the day. Ironically, I was trapped on this plane on the ground for 3 hours (just like the last one) before we finally took off.

All in all, I spent 14 hours on moving planes and 6 hours on stationary planes. I've never been a fan of the O'Hare airport, but when I landed there at 5:35 PM (7 hours after my scheduled arrival time) I was overjoyed to be there. Unfortunately, I waited for my luggage for yes, 90 minutes, and it never showed up. I filed a missing baggage report and I'm still waiting to hear if I'll ever see my suitcase again. It'll be a shame if I lose everything I bought in Argentina, but I'm so relieved to be home that I'm not too upset.

My first few hours at home have been somewhat surreal. I can't quite believe that I just spent a month volunteering in Argentina. I feel like someone else was there, not me. It'll take a while for everything to sink in. I already miss my students and speaking Spanish, and preserving my Argentine way of life in America will be difficult if not impossible. On the other hand, I appreciate many things about my life in America more than I did before I left. I learned more in the past month than I have during any other period of my life. My experience was both challenging and rewarding, and the lessons I learned will stay with me forever.

I hope you've enjoyed hearing about my travels, and I wish you all the best of luck on your future adventures.

Chau, Chau!