To and From

This trip to Bogota was, in itself, educational. I decided that since I had ALL that time on the plane and ALL that time in the airport, I should read and discuss and act like an intelligent person. Meeting that goal was helped by my lack of computer and the Atlanta airport’s lack of free internet. It was not helped by great propensity for sleeping on planes, but that’s another story!

I started out by listening to The Great Gadsby on the way to Albuquerque. I was so engrossed that I forgot to call my parents. Oops. And so excited about finishing on the way home. Except that some component on my phone died in the Amazon, wiping out camera and audiobooks. I’m living in suspense... but I won't keep you there.

Be informed: no matter how early your flight, the Albuquerque airport is not open ‘til 4 and you cannot go through security until 5. The terminal is, however, quiet enough that napping is not a problem. Atlanta was somewhat noisier. I got plenty of exercise as I learned that there are two Starbucks in Terminal C and none in any other terminal (I had a gift card). 

While sitting in Atlanta, I finished Grass Beyond the Mountains. Exaggerated I’m sure, and written by a man whose talent is story-telling, not writing biographies, I was nevertheless fascinated by this tale of cowboys on the frontiers of northern Canada in the early 20th century. It made me think of a quote I’d seen regarding the weakness reflected in today’s men, the effects of a lack of physical labor and too much media interaction. I read about men who camped in below freezing weather, rode for miles and days to help their neighbors, and lived alone for months to care for an investment - and I looked around me at men who did nothing but play on their iphones, whose hands were softer than mine, and who were rude to those nearby. How much truth?

My international flight had no more leg room than the first flight, but it did have a screen and some shoddy headphones. I decided to watch The Hobbit in Spanish. Shoddy headphones did not make that a feasible option, so I tried English. That was only slightly better, and the movie was terrible. Terrible BECAUSE - it doesn’t end. It just stops. Now I am going to have to actually make an effort to watch Hobbit 2. 

Delta did redeem their airline reputation slightly this time around, although I still doubt I’ve seen another airline get the luggage out so very slowly. At least my luggage arrived! Fabian and Jessica waited patiently during the hour I stood and watched the carousel. How good it is to go to friends! And as we drove through Bogota, I was amazed at what changes... and what doesn’t.

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Coming home was only slightly more an adventure. I’d stayed the night with my friend Caro and, reticent because we’d had so little time together, she put me in the taxi at 6:30. I arrived at the airport, maneuvered the lines to satisfy the government that I'd paid my impuestos, and tried to decide the best way to spend my last few Colombian pesos. I settled on some bocadillos for my students and an arepa for myself. Guess what? They don’t sell arepas in the international wing of the Bogota airport. Talk about disappointment...

I boarded in Bogota to confusion. A Colombian abuela was sitting in my seat. She’d moved there when asked by an English-only gentleman to see her ticket, as she was in his seat and he was going to go sit in hers. He wound up sitting in her seat, his friend in his seat, she in mine, and I in his friend’s. And it was a middle seat. But the abuela appreciated that I spoke Spanish to her and the friend appreciated that I sat in the middle, so they gave me the armrests and the friend told me all about their time as U.S. military in Colombia and all over the world (did you know that in Italy when you move out of your house, you take your stove, refrigerator, and cabinets?). We also realized that neither of us could identify the countries in Central America. Sorry, Mom, all the map labeling did NOT have a long term effect. I know what countries should be there, but I don’t know which one is which!

That was a long flight, so I continued to extend my literary base with Of Mice and Men. Actually, it was rather boring to start with, then a little weird, and I might have lost the inclination to finish had I been anywhere but the plane. BUT I did finish - and, oh, the character development that leads to the dramatic ending of this story of a foolish man and the friend who cared for him! 

Atlanta the 2nd time around held little appeal. I tried to read my Spanish novel... slept a little... watched a TV special on the need for clean water in the Amazon... yeah, I’d learned about that... I always think when I get on the plane to Albuquerque that I could not be more glad, and it was no different this time. Home to ice and clouds and snow. Home. And that is enough.