Stories from my 14-month study abroad in Buenos Aires, my 16-month post-college move to Miami, and my get-me-the-hell-out-of-Miami move to Denver

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Somewhere Over The Midwest

Well, it's really happening. I'm currently in an Airbus A320 flying over the desolate, snow-covered terrain of Illinois. Mom and I stayed at Beet and Jim's house in Elgin and made the short drive to O'Hare this morning. Once again, in classic Jones family tradition, I arrived at the airport about 3 hours before we even started loading. The TSA agent at security asked me if I really wanted to go through yet, "You know, you've still got 3 hours before your flight leaves and there isn't any food on the other side."

Surprisingly, I actually slept very well last night. My usual pre-departure sleep consists of tossing and turning every 15 minutes and checking my alarm clock in OCD fashion to make sure that it's set and that I don't wake up late. Having the comfort of knowing that I was only 30 minutes from O'Hare, I got a great night of sleep.

Uncharacteristically, the only stomach pains I'm feeling now are from being hungry, and not nervousness. After successfully getting ahold of my host mother and her daughter, all the tension is gone. I was so worried about my living situation, but as soon as I told the lady on the phone that I was her international student, she screamed my name in excitement. I'm guessing the housecleaner told her I had called and she was excited to finally meet me.

Who knows what's in store. I'm excited to see the apartment. I'm excited to see my room. Living in Recoleta, I have decently high expectations for my living arrangement. I'm excited for the beach. The Minneapolis sun isn't too powerful during the middle of winter so I'm currently a nice shade of vanilla ice cream. However, in time, I'll be nicely tanned. My skin will absorb the sun faster than Tim can get lost in Minneapolis...and that's pretty damn fast.

Warm weather and sunny skies await!

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