Friday, October 7, 2011

someplace that I have never been


Okay, so this is going to skip the first episode because it's written in my notebook and I don't have time to type it before we don't have internet now... but I'll post it later.  for now I'll just give you what I wrote here in the airport =)

We’re in the airport in Cancun now.   We had to be a little bit speedy going through the Atlanta airport because there wasn’t really any extra time.  We got to ride on the subway train transporter thing to get to concourse E, which reminded me of the London underground.  I think all subways kind of feel the same.
when we tried to get on the plane, for some reason the system had both Papa and I’s tickets under Papa’s name, so then there was some fuss about that, but then they gave up on giving us boarding passes at all and just let us get on the plane.  Our seats were an aisle and a window with a seat in between, but of course the middle seat person had no objection to letting Papa sit in the middle instead.
the inflight “movie” was actually a sitcom.  I tried to watch it but the acting was so awful that I gave up and listened to Shaun Groves on my mp3 player and looked out the window instead.  And read for a bit, too.
as we were coming into Cancun there were cumulus clouds which are the beautifullest thing in the world to fly through.  They are just as beautiful as they are when you look up at them, except you’re right there on the same level, swooshing through them, seeing them both above and below you.
Of course as soon as we were in Cancun Papa was talking to everyone in Spanish which was great.  I can normally follow all the conversations but can’t say anything.  I hope I can pick some up by the end of this trip and be able to speak a bit.
At customs the girl was very friendly and not scary at all and seemed very pleased that Papa spoke to her in Spanish.  Then we went through the long line for baggage check, but we had a luggage cart and piled everything on it so it wasn’t too bad.  We both ate my almonds because we were really hungry because all there was on the plane was cookies.  (the Delta cookies are delicious but not exactly filling.)
the customs people wanted to know all of the electronics in all the bags, but once Papa explained them all they told us to go on through.  Then Papa had to push the Button of Doom (dun dun dun!) and I had prayed but then crossed my fingers as he pushed it (which seems a bit silly, but I find myself doing it a lot).  But it lit up green!  So we went on through.
then it was a million people offering us taxis, first in English, then in Spanish when Papa spoke to them (it was funny to see their reactions).  As we were walking outside – the air was bright and warm and soft – another man came up and chattered away to Papa trying to convince him to take his taxi.  In the end he won him over, because he would take us and all our luggage to the other terminal right then for $10 and the shuttle wasn’t going to be there for another 20 minutes.  So everything was piled into his red four-door car and we rode over.  He and Papa chatted the whole time and I knew almost everything they said – asking about Papa’s work and where he learned Spanish and things.  He helped unload our luggage when we got there and then another guy brought it inside.
We went and got me a tourist visa – it wasn’t very hard – only $26 but he didn’t have change for a fifty so we had to use Papa’s money.  He wrote it so fast that we didn’t even see him writing – but there it was, with my name and information all neatly printed in block capitals.
We had to wait in line for luggage check in, but not nearly so long as for customs.  There was a French couple in front of us with an adorable little blond-haired boy chattering to himself in little-kid French which kept me entertained.
When we got to the front, we found out that the weight requirements were different – carryons can’t be more than 8 kilos!  Papa’s carryon suitcase was five kilos over, so he had to put some things into his checked bag.  But I let him put the cell phone box into my tinkerbell bag because he didn’t want anything to happen to it.
When we put our baggage through the security checkpoint it was a bit confusing because the conveyor belt of the station we were at stopped working so they moved our luggage to two different belts and we had to gather up all the things.
then it was time for regrouping and eating – our plane is delayed departure by two hours so we have lots of time.  Papa let me put my bible and computer into his carryon suitcase instead of in my backpack, which lightened my load considerably.  And of course I gave him the phone box back, too.
We found a table, and I let Papa pick out what we were eating from Guacamole Grill which is where he always eats in this airport.  I couldn’t figure out what to order after looking at the menu.  So I sat with the stuff while he went and got Prilosec from the drugstore and then bought food.  When he came back with it, it was the two things I had almost chosen!  So that worked out well.  And it was really good.
then we move d tables to be by an outlet so Papa could charge his phone.  And we found internet for $0.19 a minute so I got on facebook for a little bit and
 Papa did his work stuff.    And so now I am posting this!

1 comments:

Shan said...

I love the little delta cookies! My favorite. :-)

Miss you already.
Shannon