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Published: September 10th 2009
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Migration Days - September 7th - 9th
As all great adventure stories seem to begin with chaos and progress into greater chaos until a moment of self realization occurs... i thought it my job to ensure that my migration to Oz began as a catostrophe.
In the three weeks prior to my 9:30am departure from DTW on September 7th, 2009, I managed to travel to 10 states. In the 24 hours prior, I managed to travel to and thru three major US cities, four if you count my layover in Chicago. All of this traveling left no time for packing or worrying about typical travel things, like what the heck I am going to do with myself once I reach my destination.
So, at 6am on Sept. 7th, I found myself at the mercy of time as I heaved remaining items of clothing into the five inches of space left in each of my megatron suitcases. With an hour and fifteen minute commute to the airport, if we left this very second, I may make the two hour check in requirement for international flights. So off we went, my mom and I flew like the wind and arrived
at DTW in record time.
Once at the airport, I had the difficult task of checking in which involved getting my 6 suitcases on the plane (2 megatrons, 1 large blue/orange, 1 small blue/orange, 1 duffel, and 1 messenger bag -- see photo). The check-in staff at American Airlines stated that in their combined 40 years of managing the check-in desk they had never seen such large suitcases... and I felt a sense of tremendous pride and accomplishment. One guy joked if I cut my boyfriend into small pieces and packed him into my two megatrons... I told him that I'd prefer if he didn't scan my luggage. Then he asked if I was going to bury him in the Australian desert... I said that a shark feeding frenzy felt like a safer bet. So, a $252 dollar excess and overweight luggage charge later and I was on my way.
The flight from DTW to ORD was quick and painless, I sat next to a nice old woman who was on her way to Rome for adventure... she must really like Rome as it was her 4th time there in Holiday in the last 2 years.
Once I got to ORD, I had to exit through security and transfer to the ellusive Terminal 5. Luckily I passed a Quiznos on my way out thru security and stopped to get a sandwich, because Terminal 5 proved to be a wasteland.
I boarded my flight for Toyko on Japan Airlines and got the window. I was next to two young guys also out for adventure. The middle seat was Canadian and was headed to Thailand near the border of Myanmar to spend four months at an internship doing human rights work with Burmese refugees. The aisle seat was a sailor from outside Philly. He bought a 31 ft sailboat after graduating from college and sailed it around the world quite literally. Then he sold it in Australia, and returned home. Now he was headed back out to the Phillipinies to meet up with a captain of another sailboat he met along his previous journey to crew for a few months.
My travel mates made me realize all there is to be explored in this world. Taking the leap across the Pacific to Oz is no large feat... it isn't risky. It is risky to stay in America and become complacent, to never understand the world around me. Risk is not jumping in feet first and taking the world by storm.
After 13 hours, while exiting my flight ("deboarding" - according to Matthew) the guy from the seat in front of me introduced himself and mentioned that he was on his way to Sydney as well under the same program that I was about to embark on (12 months on a work/ holiday visa). We were in Toyko and I found a friend ... nothing could get me down.
That was until the next time I connected to the internet and read a email that gave me some of the worst news I had ever gotten in my life. My grandpa had died, while I was on planes and in airports... he had a sudden Anyuresm and was rushed to the hospital ... then died during surgery. How could this happen?!? One of the youngest of my 4 grandparents. I had never lost anyone before and now I was helpless... midway on my journey.
At the pub, three older american ladies visiting Toyko from Atlanta
heard about my recent news and spent the last of their Yen buying Serge and I beers. Toasts to new adventure and toasts to Grandpa ensued. There was never a thought of turning back now... Grandpa had been to over 120 countries... he was the reason we were all drawn to the thrill of the unknown.
Before I knew it I was on another flight, 9 hours later and I was in Sydney...
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