After picking up some last minute things (Christina sent an email asking for some Pisco) I headed to the airport to make my way home. The check in line took about an hour and a half to go though, but once I was checked in I made my way to the plane only to find out that my seat was directly in front of the exit row, and therefore I would not be able to put my seat back. This made for a very long sleepless night, but as I was quite excited to get home for a while, I was wide awake when I made it to Newark early in the morning.
My time in Newark was short lived. As the plane arrived about 25 minutes late, I had only 40 minutes to go through the boarder checks, security and make it to my flight. Every person wearing a Continental uniform I asked if I had enough time to make my flight, and each one looked at their watch and said no, but I should give it a shot. As I was rather rushed and flustered, when I made it to customs, with what looked like a pipe bomb on the side of my backpack, they asked quite a few questions about what I was carrying, what was in my bag, how much was in my bag and most importantly, how could I have such a heavy second bag that was just filled with souvenirs (they obviously haven’t been to Ecuador where the hammocks are so comfortable and cheep that you have to buy at least two of them). After he let me through, I tossed my bags on the conveyer belt and ran as fast as I could to the airplane. Luckily I made it in time, and surprisingly my bags made it to the plane before I did.
My flight from Newark to Halifax was much more pleasant as there were very few people on the plane so I could sit wherever I wanted and stretch out. We were very fortunate to have clear skies and were able to fly directly over Manhattan Island (with the flight attendant pointing out all the sites), Boston and then directly up the centre of Nova Scotia. It was so clear you could see both sides of the province and make out everything, including Chester and South Shore Marine.
As with every time I come home, I try to do something different to “shock” my parents a bit, but it doesn’t work anymore. This time I decided to get off the plane with the brightest orange felt hat I could find. Well, I didn’t think it was that unusual of me to do something like this, but when I got off the plane I came out and saw Mom look at me, turn around and walk to the other end of the airport, obviously not recognizing me. I guess after 4 months in South America, not even my family knows who I am (but luckily she did acknowledge me once I caught up to her at the other end of the airport).
That night it was good to be home in my own bed, speak English to everyone I saw, know that I can eat everything laid out in front of me, and throw the toilet paper in the toilet. The past four months had been one of the most incredible experiences in my life and definitely not something I will ever forget. All I need now are a couple of trees to string my hammock between, lie back, sort through my thousands of pictures and remember the good times, good friends and wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.
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