After walking a half kilometer with a travel backpack and a plastic tote bag; hailing a cab; calmly waiting my way through check-in and security; sitting in a stuffy waiting room; and taking the 15-minute, 20-second airport bus ride from the terminal to the plane (15 minutes waiting, 20 seconds driving), I got off the airport bus and started up the stairs to the 747. Air conditioning rushed down the stairs to greet me. A little slice of Air France heaven that would only get richer as I got closer to and eventually landed in America.
First impressions from the airport in Minneapolis: the cars were all shiny and new. Mom and I had lunch in Edina, and I just couldn’t get over how clean and cute the neighborhoods were. Our waitress came over to our table about ten times to ask us how our food was. And once we got home: so soft! All the furniture and carpeting. I haven’t been that comfortable in two years. Added bonus- I wasn’t sweating. That night we went to dinner, and I ordered a steak. I sent it back because I thought it was undercooked and didn’t want to get sick my first night home. Turns out I was overly paranoid because the meat was so tender. I usually have to chew for five minutes to get it to go down and still end up spitting out a wad of fat.
Target is amazing. So many choices, and a little overwhelming. As was watching TV. My parents have a million channels, and you can download movies directly from Amazon or Netflix. You can also have a TV guide up while your watching TV. It made me a little nervous though, seeing all the options I was missing on other channels. Of course, I could TiVo it all and never miss a thing. And never have to move from that one spot on the couch.
Mom and I went down to Chicago on Friday. We saw a performance of “The Blue Man Group”. Hilarious. We also went to the top of the Sears (now Willis) Tower. They have a glass balcony so you can step out and look directly down over downtown Chicago. My students won’t even be able to comprehend the pictures.
Busy, busy. But everything is so fast in America. We made it from Chicago to Madison (without leaving before lunch…and we arrived clean and not sweaty) in time for dinner with Nick and his friends, then to the Badger football game the next day. They didn’t look too strong until the second overtime, but a win is a win. I also got to see my grandparents, aunt, and uncle in Racine then Dad, Nick and I went to Green Bay for the Packers’ game. Aaron Rodgers…Cal alum turned Green Bay hero.
Back in Minnesota we had perfect weather for boating on the St. Croix. I even braved the chill and water skied (though I must admit I bundled up for the late evening ride home). On Wednesday my friends showed up to explore the Twin Cities before the Cal football game against Minnesota. We had a BBQ, went on a dinner cruise, and spent a day water skiing. And to top it off, we got a solid win against a surprisingly strong Minnesota team in their beautiful new stadium. It was great to see everyone. Best part was that Josh played tour guide for the weekend, so we knew all the hot spots to hangout before and after the game.
Yes, America is pretty awesome. Huge vegetables, nice cars, friends, family, on demand electricity and running water, lakes, rivers, bright lights…but my neighbors just got four sheep, and I get to wake up to the music of baby goats at 2am. (I know, you’re jealous.) It was very hard to leave, but school starts in a couple of weeks, and I’m excited to get back in the classroom and see my students.
