in transit

the following is my experience in transit to salvador. fastforward if not interested.

13/06/04 miami international airport.

i am about to freak out right about now. i have gone through two security gates and now my camera is zonked. it won´t do anything!!! granted, i didn´t check the batteries, but they have been working just fine up until now. lord, please don´t let $330 plus go down the drain. have mercy on my camera.

(sigh)

my parents and brother dropped me off at the airport. our trip down was a classic gragg trip, except that we actually left on time. we fought over the temperature. i slept most of the time. mama and daddy fussed and cussed each other. daddy cussed at other drivers. all in fun. i was surprised that we didn´t stop at cracker barrell for breakfast. nonetheless, we did have a bucket of fried chicken and rolls from some random gas station that only my daddy knows. lol. classic.

when we were saying goodbye and exchanging hugs a tsunami-like wave of emotion coame over me. at that moment i wanted to cry like a baby and tell them to take me back home. but i can´t do that. me and my big mouth. wanting to "see the world". this whole thing was inspired by reading the travel essays of langston hughes and the various sisteas in "you go girl" book. yet at that very moment in the airport with my arms around mom´s neck i realized that none of those fools ever really talked about the anxiety that one feels when embarking on a potenntially life changing, mind-altering journey.

at the ticket booth, i almost busted out crying. actually i did shed a couple of crocodile tears. i pretented to have poked my eye. to the ticket lady i said, "oh, shoot. i just got mascara in my eye." i was not wearing mascara, but i didn´t want this lady to think that i am a 28.5 year-old baby.

before my atl-miami flight i went on a magazine spree. i have about nine hours of waiting time on this trip. i bought VIBE (a.k.a Black trash magazine), yoga journal, budget travel, GQ, and kiplingers. i know. i am a certified freak!

while waiting for the two longest hours ever for my flight i dipped into that "who am i" zone. when you were a kid did you ever have a moment of discovering your self like by looking in the mirror and saying "wow! i´m a real person, but who AM i?" maybe it´s just me. anyway, i totally felt like it was my very first time going anywhere. this is not the girl i was two years ago when i averaged at least 4-5 flights a year. must. not. pity. yourself.

the flight to miami was pretty forgettable, although i must make a mental note that american airlines has a decent amount of leg room for us taller folks.

my visit to miami international served as a trial run of being a gringo (foreigner), if oyu will. so many different languages coming from so many different colors of people. i figures it´s going to be very hard for me to not fall for some brasileiro (brazilian man). this one guy,not cute by my standards, made me warm all over with hsi thick brazilian accent. what manly hands. and his deep voice when asking me for my "tee-ket". lol.

his co-workers were not quite as mesmerizing. 1st lesson on brazilians: checking in is a group effort for passengers and staff alike. rather than one or two family members being responsible for checking in, the whole damn family participates. this creates mad confusion becuase if there is a question or problem the whole staff will join their co-worker to answer, negotiate, or explain. needless to say, while checking in at Vargis i had a lot of time to, again become overwhelmed with my new situation.

"oh gosh, i don´t understand this mish-mash!!! how am i going to make it. maybe i should have enrolled in a language program in brazil. oy!!!"

there was a problem with my tickets. two agents were discussing this- in portuguese. i was able to catch and comprehend a few of the mishmash words rapidly flying around me.

seu= her/his or your

pasaje malho!= have a bad trip! (not directed to me, but to an uptight braseliero passenger)

no pode= he/she not able

connecion= connection.

wait! what!?! when agents 3 and 4 (and later 5) joined the group this confirmed that i had a problem with my ticket. rather than offer to help or understand, i did waht any part-time religious person would do...with my eyes up to heaven, i silentely begged the good Lord to "please get my ass to salvador!!!"