November 19, 1989
It has been nineteen years since I first set foot in the land of milk and honey. I can still vividly recall how I was feeling from leaving my folks' place, travelling to NAIA, waiting eternally for my flight (our flight, my Dad travelled with me) and how my eyes were so red and painful with all that goodbye tears from the rest of my family.
As I boarded PR 101, it took a while before I got settled and recall that the lady sitting before me screamed as I was about to sit. My left hand held her back rest and I did not realize that with my grip while my butt was about to touch my seat, I was pulling her hair. Now that's the disadvantage of the 80s cobra hair. Ha ha ha ha...
It was a long direct flight to LAX and all I can do was to read, eat, drink and smoke. Yes, smoke! It was allowed then. (How I miss those days.)
The 1 hour stop at Narita was a welcome stretch, and had my first sushi in the land where it was originally made. He he he
Next stop was for 3 hours in Honolulu. I can see the palm trees and the bright sunshine outside the airport. Too bad I couldn't go out. :-( And my eyes were squinting from the glare in that all- glass edifice. That's the only time I recalled that I packed my Wayfarer in my check in luggage. Crap.
Landing in LAX at early evening was even a more welcome respite. Tired, sleepy, and with an aching back, I was amazed how huge the airport is and how far I have to walk to get out from it. Immigration was a breeze, well not for my Dad who was so "lost" in a foreign land.
Finally, two of my Uncles and their families were there to meet us. It was exciting, everyone was teary-eyed upon seeing us (been over a decade since they left the country) and we boarded their respective vans.
Funny but when my other cousin ( 2nd cousin actually) talked to me (the last time we saw each other was when we were 6 years old), I found myself speaking with the Southern Californian twang! Ha ha ha ha....Strange and weird. Maybe at that time I wanted to be "in" and belong with the crowd.
So much for reminiscing, I just find it amusing that I can still recall that experience. Hmmm, maybe I should plan for another visit. My last was 11 winters ago. Yeah, I think it is time. :-)
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5 comments:
akala ko kung anong "first time'
hmmm.. nakapag-renew ka na ba ng passport friend?
contact our office.
pahabol.. kung makakapaghintay ka pa ng Feb 2009 tsaka ka na mag renew, kasi papalitan na ulit yun machine readable na passport, kakaiba talaga ang DFA!!!
syempre hindi pa. come to think of it, my passport has been expired for over a year. never thought of renewing it of late. nakakatamad kasi to go to dfa.
sana yung papalitan na machine eh di na kailangan in person pumunta. i don't like queueing, and hate early mornings on the road going to a far-away land in Pasay City.
speaking off early mornings, my boss just told me that we're attending a whle day seminar at the Mandarin tomorrow. grrrrr.....
istorbo talaga yun sa pag-ba-blog!
wow kuya! while i was reading it, i remember the first time i went to US last year. that was the first talaga plus the first time kong sumakay ng plane. hahaha.. but it was good kasi cathay ung nasakyan namin, compared to PAL this year.
and thankful kasi both are work related, kakapagod lang kasi both was three plane ride :(
tama, visit ka na sa knila. for sure namimiss ka rin nila.. hehehe
yeah DE, nakaka-miss sila. di ko alam kung kiss nila ako. he he he
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