Hello! Hello!
As I’m writing this I am currently back in the Philippines and seating at my breakfast table typing away on my laptop about to tell you all my recent trip to the United States of America! This will be a series of blogs since it’ll be to long to put into one blog post and I don’t mind sharing every bit of my adventure with you all from flying alone to exciting experiences. I can’t wait to share every bit of it.
So let’s begin!
It’s the morning of July 21, 2017 (FLIGHT DAY!) with a 10 PM flight and I haven’t even packed a single item in my luggage. I’m slightly panicking on the inside since this is the first time I haven’t packed in advance. I was so busy on the days leading up to our flight out. My mom helps with the packing since we’re bringing Philippine delicacies with us to the States per family request. A few hours later it’s already noon and we’re finally done packing! My siblings and I tidy up a bit and finally get ready for a long trip across the Pacific Ocean AKA the 13 hour flight.
3:00PM arrives and our ride to the airport is here with my grandmother who will be joining us in the States. We load our bags and head to the airport, bidding farewell to my aunt and cousins once we get there. The pre-flight process was a breeze, from checking in, to clearing customs and immigration.
Disaster struck at 9:15PM! We were about to board the plane when it was announced that we would be delayed by 2 hours. 2 HOURS!
When 12:00AM approached we thought we were about to board our flight when Philippine Airlines announced that they would be handing snacks to us while we waited. In my experience, snacks are always a sign of delay (But, at least we got free snacks). I was starting to get exhausted and wanted to get this trip over with even though it hadn’t started yet. A few minutes later the operator (Is that what you call the people who announce stuff in airports?) announced that we would be boarding in 10 minutes .I was ecstatic that the wait was finally over.
13 hours later we finally arrived in San Francisco (SF), California on July 21, 2017 at 10PM (Yes we went back in time. Just kidding we gained a day because we had to cross the International date line.)
I swear all I did was sleep and watch movies on the plane. I was too tired to be productive but, none the less, I was glad to be back in the United States after four years. Once we arrived in SF we still had a 45 minute drive to San Jose where my family would be staying for the next two weeks, while I head to Michigan for a reunion with my high school friends. Upon arriving in San Jose, we settled in and went straight to bed. We were all so exhausted and we didn’t get home till about 12 midnight.
A little background: my mom has family residing in San Jose, California who my grandmother hadn’t seen in over 25 years.
Back to the story!
In our first day in the United States (and a few hours till my first flight to Michigan), my brothers and I roamed around the neighborhood where my aunt lived. Her place was about a 5 minute walk away from Santana Row, a premiere shopping, dining and living destination in San Jose and about a 10 minute walk away from the infamous Winchester Mystery House.
At around 12:30PM, my brothers and I headed home and I gathered my stuff before we headed to the airport. We left the house at 1:20PM to head to the airport which was about 10 minutes away. I checked my luggage in while my brothers, my other aunt and grandmother headed to In & Out to order us lunch before I finally begin my travel to Michigan.
After In & Out, I proceeded to the airport while my family had dinner at a cousin’s place before dropping my brother at the Nike Junior Golf Camp in Monterey, California.
My journey to Grand Rapids, Michigan has finally begun!
I’ll see you all in my next blog post where I tell you all about my long, adventurous trip to Michigan.
xoxo
Julia
