Wednesday, November 17, 2010

You know you need a trip to the U.S. when…

You get tears in your eyes just walking into the US Embassy.


YUP. That was me today.


I have to add more pages to my passport before my trip home so I went to the US Embassy this morning. I’ve never been there before so maybe my excitement was also seeing it for the first time but the second I walked through security, my eyes filled with tears. And then I thought about what I’ll feel when I FINALLY walk into baggage claim at my home airport and see my family and there were official drops dripping down my cheeks and I was THAT girl among the hundreds of people waiting for their visa interviews. Not gonna lie, I LOVED that all I had to do – literally - was flash my US passport to the guard and I was ushered in ahead of the 10 Chileans waiting for their interviews outside the embassy walls.

I’m always excited to go home and happy to see my family, but it’s been almost a year (the longest I’ve ever been away from home) and I am READY. This not-so-patriotic girl is ready to sing the national anthem, buy an Old Navy shirt, and eat some freedom fries!

But most of all, I cannot wait to lounge around in my parents’ house with my beloved dog, drinking wine and playing board games with my family.

My fix for today was Starbucks coffee and will continue into takeout sushi and illegal downloads of my favorite US shows. Oh hell, I’ll just say it, AMERICAN shows!

4 comments:

Kyle said...

Your post made me cry. I hope I never forgot how good it is to be able to see parents on a regular basis.

KM said...

haha i totally hear you. a year is too long. sounds like you're very close to your family. so am i. it's relaly hard to be in Chile w/family so far away so i get it. and i too totally love going in front of everyone at the embassy. and, ps, how have you never been there before???

Annje said...

I was in chile for more than three years without being able to go home (sending money for loans-no money for plane ticket). When I finally went back to the US and they said "Welcome Home" at immigration at the airport... I got tears in my eyes.

Hey I need some tips on getting "not-so-legal" tv shows... I was so bummed to discover you can't just watch them online down here...boooo!

Maeskizzle said...

Oh, I love going home. Isn't it the best? My folks came out to Portland for Thanksgiving, which was great! I didn't have to travel this time to see them.

Ooh, that's probably the best "tramite" that requires you to go to the embassy. When I got more pages in my passport there, I remember it was quick, free, and easy!

I remember after my first six months in Chile, I didn't want to go home. I went home for my bro's wedding and to see the fam, but I was having so much fun and I felt so at home in Chile that I didn't want to leave. I was taken by surprise that I felt this way. But it was totally nice when I got home, and I got back to Chile even happier.

I also remember when I went home for my ma's bday in 2009, when boarding the plane to go back to Chile, I felt my whole body tense up as I prepared myself to deal with being in Chile: worrying about having my purse stolen, fending off piropos, avoiding flaites, etc.

Have an awesome trip back to the States!!!