A trip to US is always very interesting for me. It starts with being excited to visit Seattle again. This time also I decided to stop by Seattle on my way in. Landing in Seattle still feels like returning home. Its all so familiar, the lake, bridges, 405 and the bus. Even the immigration staff feels friendly (of course only relative to US immigration elsewhere). This time at immigration I was giving all the wrong answers -
where are you going?
me: To Redmond
here it says california?
me: Right, to Redmond for the weekend and then CA
Why are you here?
me: (I am sorry I will never commit the crime of coming to US again!) well, we have headoffice in CA and we are here to have meetings with the team.
We? Who else is with you?
me: (oh, my imaginary friend, because I must be crazy to choose to go thru this questioning) Oh! did I say we, I meant I, I am travelling alone.
hmm, I thought you said we.
me: No, I am alone.
(wait for him to take me aside for more questioning, but that does not happen, thankfully I am in Seattle and not NY or SF)
Alright since you have committed the crime of entering US, get fingerprinted and then you can go.
Phew! that went well, which is true everytime you are not arrested.
Then the airlines left my bag in Paris. There was not enough time. I said there were 2hrs, I got myself from plane 1 to plane 2, going through US security. Come to think of it there was no US security this time. So the agent says, "oh well, u know the europeans they don't care about anything. If its time to take their 3 hr lunch, they will take it". I guess I do no Europeans and I happen to think they take their work seriously. But anyway, no big deal except that its really cold and I don't have a jacket. The bag will arrive next day on same flight. The agent leave me with advice to not fly through Paris or London - they are the worst. ok, I knew that actually. My favourite is Amsterdam.
Anyway, so that is how I found myself outside the airport, without luggage, but free. Sadly all this experience is also all so familiar! After spending the weekend in Seattle, I was out to CA. Domestic travel is the same, still a bit pleasant at Seattle airport. After spending a week in US, I always feel like everyone loves me, I have so many friends, the world is so friendly and wonderful. Its just so easy to fit right in US work or outside. But ironically, I also never adjusted to general lifestyle - extremely wasteful from excessive cooling everywhere to refusing to dry clothes in sun, germophobia, take 20 paper napkins at every change etc. It always hurt me to see people just not caring at all about the environment and living like everything is infinitely available, and well, to them it is. Anyway, on to good things. So I ended my trip feeling great, world is all friendly again, till..... I tried to get out of US.
--
tuls
where are you going?
me: To Redmond
here it says california?
me: Right, to Redmond for the weekend and then CA
Why are you here?
me: (I am sorry I will never commit the crime of coming to US again!) well, we have headoffice in CA and we are here to have meetings with the team.
We? Who else is with you?
me: (oh, my imaginary friend, because I must be crazy to choose to go thru this questioning) Oh! did I say we, I meant I, I am travelling alone.
hmm, I thought you said we.
me: No, I am alone.
(wait for him to take me aside for more questioning, but that does not happen, thankfully I am in Seattle and not NY or SF)
Alright since you have committed the crime of entering US, get fingerprinted and then you can go.
Phew! that went well, which is true everytime you are not arrested.
Then the airlines left my bag in Paris. There was not enough time. I said there were 2hrs, I got myself from plane 1 to plane 2, going through US security. Come to think of it there was no US security this time. So the agent says, "oh well, u know the europeans they don't care about anything. If its time to take their 3 hr lunch, they will take it". I guess I do no Europeans and I happen to think they take their work seriously. But anyway, no big deal except that its really cold and I don't have a jacket. The bag will arrive next day on same flight. The agent leave me with advice to not fly through Paris or London - they are the worst. ok, I knew that actually. My favourite is Amsterdam.
Anyway, so that is how I found myself outside the airport, without luggage, but free. Sadly all this experience is also all so familiar! After spending the weekend in Seattle, I was out to CA. Domestic travel is the same, still a bit pleasant at Seattle airport. After spending a week in US, I always feel like everyone loves me, I have so many friends, the world is so friendly and wonderful. Its just so easy to fit right in US work or outside. But ironically, I also never adjusted to general lifestyle - extremely wasteful from excessive cooling everywhere to refusing to dry clothes in sun, germophobia, take 20 paper napkins at every change etc. It always hurt me to see people just not caring at all about the environment and living like everything is infinitely available, and well, to them it is. Anyway, on to good things. So I ended my trip feeling great, world is all friendly again, till..... I tried to get out of US.
--
tuls
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