International Ambassadors

Last week I went to Vermont to spend the Thanksgiving break with my host family. It was super awesome that I did not want to go back to school ;p We had a delicious traditional Thanksgiving meal which included turkey (my host niece - she is 4 years old - called it Mr. Turkey), smashed and sweet potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green beans, cranberries, and ginger cheesecake!!! I did not take any single pictures because I was too busy enjoying every second of my stay in Vermont (I love being pictured instead of taking a picture anyway ^^) but I know some other people did. Once they upload the pictures in facebook.com (a social networking website), I will upload some of them in this blog ^o^

Of course life is not always about good times, sometimes we have to deal with the worst possible scenario as well. It was Sunday (November 30) and I was checking in for my flight back to Minneapolis when the airlines assistant informed me that my flight was canceled due to weather. She was trying to get me to a different flight and apparently the earliest one I could get was the next morning (December 1). I asked her if she could get me to a different airline that would be able to fly that day because I could not miss any of my Monday classes. I was trying to call my host mother when she suddenly said, "I managed to reserve you a seat for a flight from Burlington to Chicago. Now, to get from Chicago to Minneapolis, there's one flight at 10:19 PM. It's ,however, currently full. I could put you on the stand-by list if that's what you want. If you're lucky, you'll arrive in Minneapolis tonight. Another option is tomorrow morning at 6:25 AM. There are still some seats left for that flight." I thought about the options for a minute and let her know that I would take the chance of being a stand-by passenger.

It was already 9:10 PM when I arrived in Chicago O'Hare International Airport. I ran to the closest monitor to see where I had to go for United Airlines flight from Chicago to Minneapolis. Gate B4!!! I rushed myself to gate B4. Some people were already waiting in the boarding room but no airlines assistant was there. I kept my eyes on the screen to make sure there was no gate change. I waited and waited and waited again until I decided to count how many people were in the boarding room. There was and old lady wearing a purple coat with a set of pink hat, scarf, and gloves. Very cute. Not far from my seat, an Asian family was having pizza. It was interesting to listen to their conversation because I never heard that language before. From a tag in their luggage, I found out that they are from Laos. I finished counting. There were thirty two people in the boarding room. I did not know how many seats they had for that particular flight but I was crossing my finger hoping I could go home that night.

Finally, an airlines assistant showed up. She made an announcement that she would start calling stand-by passengers' names to assign them seats. One..two..three..ten people already got called. I was about to jump out of my chair when the eleventh name she called was mine. I arrived in my apartment at 3 o'clock in the morning and went straight to bed without bothering myself to take a shower.

I am not mad at God, not at the weather, not at everyone either. I am glad that I was in that situation because I had a great time realizing how diverse this world is, how those differences among us should make our bond stronger. Would would happen if everyman looked like Brad Pitt and every woman looked like Angelina Jolie? Not fun definitely. I am glad that I was in that situation because it helped me to grow as a wiser and stronger woman. I am glad that I was in that situation because now I have a story that I can share with everyone else, including YOU ^^

Salam,
-asa-