The trip back to the USA, for as smoothly as things went, has also been a kind of torture. I know, exagerration… but not much. I cried a lot (of course– if you know me, you know that goodbyes are my biggest crying points. To make things harder, Audrey would occasionally decide to look for Cesar and call out “Papai! Papai!” That was tough every time. She did, however, charm everyone she came into contact with.
The trip started in Brasilia. As I mentioned in previous posts, I ended up taking an 11:50 flight out of Brasilia so that I could make sure to get to Sao Paulo well before my flight to the USA, scheduled for 9:40 that night. Audrey and I sat down by our gate and munched on a breakfast croissant and Audrey played face games with an older man across from us. So cute. She showed him all her tricks (saying "dois" or “two” and holding up her fingers, asking him if he wanted her juice or the empty plastic bag, playing peek-a-boo). She then fell asleep right after boarding the plan and woke up only when I went to pick up my luggage.
In Sao Paulo, I had to pick up all my luggage and re-check it. The problem, however, was that when I went to information (around 1:00PM), they told me the kiosk/check-in for Continental wouldn’t open until much later. However, it is not safe for a woman with a baby and a bunch of luggage to wander the airport for hours, so I ended up paying a bit extra for safety and stayed in one of the airline lounges until I could check in.
It’s not easy for a one-year-old to charm a bunch of guys watching a soccer game, but Audrey did. By the end of our time in the lounge, she was shouting “Goooooooal!” and getting food from everyone. We took a shower there, and then set out to check in. Three hours before take off, the line was enormous! Luckily, the best part of Brazil clicked into place– preferential lines, which means that I, having Audrey with me, got to cut to the front of the line both at check-in, security, and the passport check. I did, however, take longer than normal to get through because Audrey’s last name is different than mine and they had to check parental authorization (which, thankfully, I’d already thought of and got at the airport the day before).
The flight from Sao Paulo to the Houston was a good one. the lady next to us was both polite and social, so we got to talk when we wanted to talk, sleep when we wanted to sleep, watch a bit of several movies, and she helped distract Audrey. She also gave Audrey a bit of gum, and after having done that, Audrey spent the rest of the flight (when she wasn’t sleeping) asking for more.
Now, it must be said if I haven’t said it before, but US Customs is a pain in the butt! It’s easier for me to clear customs just about anywhere in the world EXCEPT my own. There was a line at customs (and, of course, I had only 2 hours between connections). The US, for all that we’re known for in being polite in professional, does NOT cater to people with children– we stand in line with everyone else with no additional courtesy (and some people with a bit of annoyance… thankfully, nobody had reason to be annoyed with me because I was carrying an angel in a handy carrier and took less time than most couples getting past that.
Then, getting past the next security (after picking up my luggage AGAIN), they put me though an additional check because I had been in contact with animals in Brazil. That’s what honesty gets you! In any case, they just asked if I’d cleaned my shoes and sent me on my way. I then had to move the perfumes I’d bought in Sao Paulo to my checked luggage before re-checking them again and going through security again in order to get to my flight to KC.
Josa picked me up at the airport. I’d asked to borrow a phone from the guy standing next to me, and he was kind and allowed me to call Josa (my brother-in-law) to let him know where I was. I then found out that I would be staying at the Pastor’s house because the place where I was going to stay (with some friends) was occupied by another couple who needed a place to live for the few months before going back to Brazil.
So here I am, in KC. Today and tomorrow I’ll be doing some shopping for some basics (soap, deodorant, a brush, diapers) and will work on getting a phone for me to use during my time here!
Message me on Facebook and we’ll get together!