The Long Trip Home

Written 1/16 at 11:30am

            Well, I still have another hour to kill in my 5-1/2 hour layover in Zagreb, so why not write a blog post, right?  So far, I am doing pretty well passing the time.  I really want to be a more patient person, so I am very proud of myself for not feeling bored and anxious yet.  It helps that I planned ahead, and downloaded lots of things to read and TV shows to watch onto my iPad.

            I remember that when I first came to Sarajevo, I flew through Zagreb, where I first met Matt.  We had a two or three hour layover, and I remember complaining about how tiny and run-down the Zagreb airport seems.  My perspective must have changed, because now the airport seems just fine: clean, with decent coffee bars, and plenty of comfortable places to sit.  Maybe it just feels more comfortable because I understand enough of the language to have a general sense of what’s going on around me.  And when I don’t, it doesn’t feel so intimidating because I’m getting used to not understanding everything.

            I’ve had the past three days off.  If I had known earlier, I would have extended my trip to Chicago, so that I could be there for more than four days.  However, I had a great weekend, so I don’t have any regrets. J  On Friday I got some work done at home, and then went into the city center to teach my student.  I was worried about whether I have been explaining myself very clearly in lessons, but he is learning so quickly!  It’s funny: as a student, I often attributed my progress or lack thereof to my teachers.  Now that I’m teaching more, I feel that the majority of a student’s progress stems from their own hard work and aptitude.

            On Saturday, I went back to Jahorina.  It is so beautiful in the mountains that I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to return.  I wasn’t planning on it, but I got talked into riding a snowmobile. I was nervous, but we didn’t go very fast, and I got to see a lot more of the landscape than I would have just walking around the resort.  Here’s to being open to new things, right?

            Yesterday, my friend Ivana suggested having a girls’ night out.  Well, it really was more of an afternoon out, because I had to get up at 4:30am today to catch my flight.  I commuted down to the city center with Sara and Morena, and we met up with Ivana at BBI.  After having the obligatory coffee, Ivana suggested walking down to a small brewery she had just discovered.  Unfortunately, the brewery was closed, so we walked back toward Bascarsija to eat somewhere else.  We wound up at the Cheers Pub kitchen.  It was only partially open, but we had some good pizza and bottled beers.  I guess we learned to avoid going out on Sunday evening in Sarajevo…

Added around 8pm:           

I had just enough time in the Paris airport to dash from one gate to another, so I didn’t really get to check it out.  It seems like a very nice airport though.  Maybe it’s good that I didn’t have time to go shopping there, because there were so many beautiful, but expensive, clothes, bags, etc for sale.  The coolest part of stopping over in Paris was that we flew right over the city when landing, and I got to see the Eiffel Tower!  My window wad kind of blurry, so my Eiffel Tower pictures didn’t turn out, but I did get an aerial shot of the skyline.

            I had a hard time switching out of “Bosnian mode” today.  I kept automatically replying “hvala” (“thank you”) and “isvinite” (“excuse me”), even in Atlanta.  I’m sure my brain will switch over properly after some sleep.

            I was a little bit worried about making a short connection time in Atlanta, because I had to go through customs and re-check my bag.  However, I made it to the gate with a few minutes to spare.  They always completely over-feed you on transatlantic flights, but I’m having a hard time resisting the temptation to buy food even though I’m full.  They sell so much food in American airports!  In this one small terminal, there must be 50 different restaurants.  And they have all of the things I miss: Chinese food, carrots and ranch dressing, cheddar cheese, corn chips…  But I held my own.  I have to save room for Cheerios when I get home!

Added 11/17:

            So I am going to finish up this post about my trip, and then take a break from blogging for the next couple of days.  I have such little time here, and I don’t want to waste it on my computer!  But, I have a 7-hour layover in New York on the way back, so I should be able to write a nice long post then. J

            My flight from Atlanta to Chicago was a little bit delayed, for a rather funny reason.  There were so many overweight people on the plane, and so many heavy bags, that the plane was overweight.  Welcome back to America!  We had to sit on the runway and let the plane burn off several hundred pounds of fuel before take-off.

            I finally got into Chicago around 11:30pm, after approximately 30-hours of traveling.  I was so tired, but the second we landed, a huge smile involuntarily spread across my face.  “I’m home!”  I had a seat toward the front of the plane, so I was able to dash off quickly, and meet Ross at my baggage claim.  The excitement helped me feel awake again, at least for the next hour.  My bag made it, and there was no traffic, so Ross drove us home in just a few minutes.

            I was greeted by the smell of freshly baked bread when I walked into the apartment, because Ross had thought to start a loaf of bread in our bread machine before he left to pick me up.  Mmmmm…. Very clever Ross!  Our apartment looked gorgeous, and it was so clean.  So I happily ate some freshly baked bread with Maine blueberry jam and (finally) got some sleep.  I think that I will avoid jet lag, because I was so tired that I slept perfectly from midnight to 10am.  Now I feel very rested, and so happy to be home!