Last week I hopped on an airplane in Bangkok and 24 hours later I landed in Portland, Oregon. The flight was pretty uneventful, considering this was the first time I've traveled alone internationally. I only had one small issue, I was tagged for an extra baggage search when I landed in Seattle because I have been back and forth to Thailand three times in the last six months and that seemed suspicious to the customs people.
I traveled back to the states to visit my mom, to attend my cousin's wedding, and to take my GRE test for graduate school. One week is definitely not enough time to do all of those things, but I made the best of it.
My cousin Karl's wedding was a great time. Family flew in from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Colorado for the occasion. Hanging out with my family was so much fun. I enjoyed telling them all about my adventures in Thailand and catching up on family happenings while eating good food and drinking excellent beer.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to go site seeing with the family after the wedding because I had to study for my GRE. I did better than I thought I would but not as good as I hoped (is that vauge enough for you?), but I did get a wonderful note of encouragement and some beautiful roses from my mom the morning of the test.
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| I have the best Mom! |
Being back in the states made me realize that not only did I miss hanging out with my family, but how much I missed orderly traffic that followed laws I understand, going into a store and knowing what everything is and where to find what I need, and being able to go outside without immediately breaking out in sweat.
While back in the US I stocked up on items that I can't find in Thailand (clothing and shoes that fit me, three seasons of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and items that are really expensive in Thailand (towels, pancake syrup, and yarn). I also picked up some pistachio pudding for my friend Elizabeth and some Command picture hanging strips for my friend Mary. Luckily I brought one completely empty suitcase and had a 70 pound weight limit for each bag, otherwise I would have had to leave some of this behind.
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| Shopping Spree!! |
Hey Melanie-Why did you have to go all the way back to the U.S. to take the GRE?
ReplyDeletePro- thank you for the compliment. Good luck on your GRE.
ReplyDeleteBRS- I didn't have to- I was going to go back for my cousin's wedding anyway and I thought it would be easier to take it there than to try and figure out where to take it over here.
That makes sense! I'm just being nosy...I took it in Japan, so I was hoping you didn't fly all the way back home just for that!
ReplyDeleteDid I see a HUGE bag of Reese's Peanut butter cups???
ReplyDeleteThat IS a huge bag of Reese's Peanut Butter cups. Eric did a happy sugar rush dance when I pulled them out of my suitcase!
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