As I am writing this I am well aware of the fact that my journey to and in the United States has been over for quite some time. Especially my mother has been trying to get me to finish what I started: This series of blogposts. I completely agreed with her, and yet it seemed like a very difficult task. Looking back at it now that I'm able to sit down and write this, I realise that this is just as much a part of the journey as the actual trip was. Explanation will follow, first I intend to fill you in on my last days in Massachusetts.
The day after my 17th birthday was a Sunday, and I spent it in the sun. Yes, I had a lazy day, hence why I didn't exactly feel the need to write about it that night and kind of blocked myself from doing so the nights thereafter as well. I sat outside in the sun and read in my book, which, at this point, I have finished and will probably do a recommendation post on soon. :) I honestly don't think I did anything else that day, probably play some in the garden with Chloe. For dinner DeWitt and I picked up some nice Chinese food which I really enjoyed. He thought it would be fun to watch a movie together after dinner, so we sat down and watched Pitch Perfect. I loved that movie! I hadn't seen it before, for some weird reason, and right now cannot wait to go see the sequel. On that night there was a very special moon as well! It was so big and bright and you could see it rise above the town - it was really pretty!
That Monday would be the day I took off. Only, my plane wouldn't leave until nine in the evening, so I had some time to spare and enjoy myself! As everyone else had gone to school or work that day, I had the first few hours on my own. I spent it packing my suitcase, tidying my room and reading, again, as that was the best thing to do on a hot and sunny day (28 degrees Celsius out!!), until Amy and DeWitt came home from work early to take me out for lunch near the beach. It was a small beach-café where I ordered, once again, a plate of fish and chips. Who's gonna blame me? ;) For the rest of the afternoon we chilled at the beautiful beach on Plum Island, where the temperature seemed to be much lower due to the wind coming off of the cool Atlantic ocean. A couple of college guys played a fun game with a frisbee, which I hadn't ever seen in the Netherlands before. It included two plastic 'goals' which looked a bit like dustbins, that each had a slot on the side. Each team, consisting of two members, had 1 member on each side of the 'field'. You would need to try and get the frisbee inside the slot in the bin, to get the maximum points. However, your teammate on that side is allowed to help by either smashing it inside the bin through the top (for half of the points) or smacking it against the side (for a fourth of the points). It actually looked like a lot of fun, and I'll be looking around for it on Dutch beaches as well. :) Then the time came for me to finish packing the last things, and to collect everything that didn't fit in a separate plastic bag as my 'carry-on item'. Amy surprised me by saying that she and Carson would need to say goodbye earlier to me, because they had to leave for his game. I hugged them both, and felt incapable of describing my gratitude adequately in that short, surprising moment. I knew that these were people that I'd always want to return to. I didn't get to say goodbye to Deuce personally, which was a shame. He was out playing sports, so it wasn't a possibility. DeWitt collected CeCe from school, and they took me to the airport together. At this point I was starting to get nervous about the whole airport-ordeal again. However, once there, we discovered that my gate could be found in terminal A. This meant a terminal that is solely for Delta Airlines, and at a separate far-end of the Boston Logan Airport. DeWitt and CeCe took me as far as they could, and stayed waiting for me to get through security even after we'd said goodbye. I found myself doing the same thing I'd done to my family when I left for the United States: I kept on waving until I could no longer see them. Then I was alone again. It's a sad feeling, leaving new friends/family behind, only that sad feeling doesn't entirely kick in until about a week after. DeWitt had advised me to get something small to eat before boarding the plane, as it might take a while before you get your actual dinner in the air. Looking around at the menus of the different food stands, I knew immediately what to get. It wasn't exactly as small as I'd liked it to be, but my mozzarella sticks were delicious. I'm forever grieving the fact that I can't seem to find them in the Netherlands.
I was fortunate enough to be on a plane that wasn't as crowded. There were multiple free chairs, so everyone could just move around to their comfort as we were up in the air. There was one chair between me and a - I think - Polish lady. In the middle of the night she woke me up gently to say that she was going to the back, and that I could feel free to use all the chairs. So that I did. I spent the rest of my flight horizontally, trying very hard to get the most sleep out of my 8 hours flying in the air. Earbuds aren't helpful enough. During this flight I have realised how incredibly loud airplanes are, and how insanity starts to kick in about this sound after a good 5 hours. I woke up because of the bright sunlight, in spite of my eyeshades, and was immediately overthrown with a stomach ache. There were only about 2 hours of flying left, and breakfast came around soon. A bagel and yoghurt didn't help soothe my stomach at all, in fact it only seemed to get worse. That's when you really wish to finally get off the plane already. During the landing, which was a little rough and not the friendliest to my tummy either, I learned that the two women next to me were visiting the Netherlands as tourists. I really enjoyed watching them swoon over the views, and talking about all the things they wanted to visit. As soon as the tulip-fields came into vision, they were over the moon. I have to admit that I was, too, and I definitely want to visit those fields sometime soon as well! And then, finally, we were back on the ground.
At the airport I was annoyed by the extreme distance I had to walk with my heavy backpack in order to get to the right baggage-belt. It was ridiculous! Once there, I had to wait a long time for my suitcase to come into vision again. I was even starting to worry that it hadn't made it, after the announcements stated that the last baggage had been loaded onto the belt. However, there were several people still waiting, so that gave me some relief. And there it was! My blue suitcase which you definitely couldn't miss between all the others. I hoisted it off the belt and onto my trolley. I was good to go. I had previously received a text message from my mother, saying that she, my sister and a huge banner were there to collect me. Oh, God, is what I thought. They had better not! Appearing through the arrival doors, I was awaited by my mother, sister and a huge - uhum - banner. It was tiny :') I was so thankful! And glad to see them, of course! As we hugged, I apologised for my stickiness; as it was incredibly hot in the clothes I was wearing. The reason of which was my full suitcase ;) We drank some coffee at Starbucks and continued home, where I was ready to receive birthday wishes and presents from my family!
To get back to what I was saying in the first paragraph, I think that me not wanting to finish this series was partially because I didn't really want to admit that it was over. I had had such a great time, and met such great people, that I didn't want it to feel like that was all over and in the past already. I miss it all a lot, and I think that is mainly because I can't be in contact with my host family over facebook or WhatsApp. I rely on writing emails, which I'm super poorly at maintaining. I'm taking some time, but will definitely get into contact with them again soon! My biggest wish, is for one of them to come to the Netherlands as well. So that I can show them all the things I've been telling them about. Maybe someday that wish will come true. :)
So that was the end of my journey! I hope you enjoyed reading it, and will stick with me for other posts.
Lots of love,
Eva
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