It was hard getting out of bed this morning. G and I didn’t spend a huge amount of time saying goodbye in the house, it would’ve made it harder. I was packed fairly quickly, and G’s dad was nice enough to pick up breakfast interim. The ride to the airport is always shorter when I leave, and it ends too quickly. Schipol was busier than I remembered. I sadly left G at the customs booth. Even a shorter goodbye didn’t stop me from wanting to yank him with me on the plane. The flight was functional, despite the woman next to me who pushed her entire arm onto my seat side. The plane flew in a direct path over my house, and I was able to recognize things aerially. There were a lot of other people who flew today; next time I won’t fly on a federal holiday.
Stepping into Chicago was akin to arriving on another planet. I felt like actual reality was slipping away in the skies over the Atlantic ocean. Europe real, Chicago imitation. Hearing English on the radio feels more foreign than the Dutch I heard for two weeks straight.
I’ll be back there someday soon!
North Shore
Old Orchard