apparently being away from people to actually converse with - stranded in lands of strangers- at least has the side effect of reanimating my blogging activities - as there is one more story to relate concerning my journey:
chatting with the immigration officer or "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman traveling to the US alone, must be in want of a green card."
Because, as always, I claimed to be here on tourist business only, so not to excite any suspicions connected to possible business activities if I mention the word conference or university summer school. Traveling all alone, without knowing anyone at the point of destination and being less then serious (see fully rested from the flight) raised a number of questions by the immigration officer.
Why Boston? - Well, that one I had covered: I study American studies and had not yet been to this cradle of the idea of America, an unpardonable neglect on my part, I thus intend to remedy (though answered in slightly less words). As I claimed I do not know anyone here - So you plan to find someone? - *laugh* Äh no, and anyway I am already married. - Then why is your husband not with you? - He did not get off work, and anyway, we are separated. - *puzzled look, unsure of whether that would possibly make me even more suspicious* - that's a loooong story you don't want to hear - *more suspicious puzzlement in those watery blue eyes* How much money do you carry? - About 9 US-dollars and slightly less than 20 Euros. - *shocked surprise added to puzzlement* Do you carry a *mumblemumblemubmle* - Sorry? - *even more suspicion* a credit card?! - Of course, and about 3 ATM cards. - Well .... ähm ... have a great stay. - Will do!
6/21/2009
the way to travel
I am in strong favor of travel in sleep-deprived states ... tested recently on my return from Austria to Berlin I only was conscious for about 117 minutes of the almost 9 hour train ride - barely enough to change trains, fill my stomach with the extensive breakfast bought at Linz train station and in Leipzig, as always, switch to the opposite bench as it is a dead-end train station and would result in my facing backwards on the last leg of the ride ... not an option as everyone who ever moved even over a short distance in my company would know.
As I am also in strong favor of cheap traveling, I ended up booking a flight to Boston that left Berlin at 7.35 - not a bad time I thought at the time... once again (see my Vienna trip in November) not taking the be-at-the-airport-2-hours-before-departure-idea into account. However, as I also rather successfully wasted away the day(s) before departure in a really excessively nice way (including wonderful 3-dish-Indian-dinner at my place for my Iranian friends, as well as a last evening spent on the balcony immersed in a blanket and almost romantically inclined thoughts) I started cleaning the dishes (my mother suggested that a sink full of unwashed dishes could result in a significantly less pleasant return experience after a 10 day absence) and packing my bags at about 1 am .... thinking that I would just not sleep at all ... however, efficiency, you fickle mistress, I was absolutely finished by 2.48 and thus 52 minutes too early to shower and leave. Hooray, however, to my night-shift-working experiences, thanks to which I knew that I was capable of power-napping, so off to bed, 49 minutes of rest (with the lights kept on in the hall to make the transition easier).
And thus, I had the perfect Iberia flight to Boston one could imagine - in a state otherwise only approved for infants. Both times asleep before take-off I missed all of the Berlin-Madrid flight (no free food on that one anyway). And on the way to Boston could not even have been disappointed by the fact that it was one of these really old airbus models with only small and far-away shared screens for half the plane and those to be filled with two recent movies of which I would still be hard pressed to decide which was awful and which one was worse: "17 again" and "Pink Panther 2" - a fate, I was spared by my state. I woke up in time to claim my (quite edible) pasta lunch and coffee, to sleep (with the brief interruption of accepting my immigration forms) until dinner with coffee (apparently the Spanish airline coffee is no more effective than what I am fed since) to wake up to witness the amazing landing in Boston - as the airport is right at the sea, the plane seemingly grazing the ocean just before landing.
And not only are long distance flights less annoying (although I actually always like travel as much as arriving), it also prevents jetlag to start off with a totally disoriented body already!
Then again - living in a cheap (though acceptably clean and nice as well as well located) hostel possibly does little to enhance sleeping-in anyways.
As I am also in strong favor of cheap traveling, I ended up booking a flight to Boston that left Berlin at 7.35 - not a bad time I thought at the time... once again (see my Vienna trip in November) not taking the be-at-the-airport-2-hours-before-departure-idea into account. However, as I also rather successfully wasted away the day(s) before departure in a really excessively nice way (including wonderful 3-dish-Indian-dinner at my place for my Iranian friends, as well as a last evening spent on the balcony immersed in a blanket and almost romantically inclined thoughts) I started cleaning the dishes (my mother suggested that a sink full of unwashed dishes could result in a significantly less pleasant return experience after a 10 day absence) and packing my bags at about 1 am .... thinking that I would just not sleep at all ... however, efficiency, you fickle mistress, I was absolutely finished by 2.48 and thus 52 minutes too early to shower and leave. Hooray, however, to my night-shift-working experiences, thanks to which I knew that I was capable of power-napping, so off to bed, 49 minutes of rest (with the lights kept on in the hall to make the transition easier).
And thus, I had the perfect Iberia flight to Boston one could imagine - in a state otherwise only approved for infants. Both times asleep before take-off I missed all of the Berlin-Madrid flight (no free food on that one anyway). And on the way to Boston could not even have been disappointed by the fact that it was one of these really old airbus models with only small and far-away shared screens for half the plane and those to be filled with two recent movies of which I would still be hard pressed to decide which was awful and which one was worse: "17 again" and "Pink Panther 2" - a fate, I was spared by my state. I woke up in time to claim my (quite edible) pasta lunch and coffee, to sleep (with the brief interruption of accepting my immigration forms) until dinner with coffee (apparently the Spanish airline coffee is no more effective than what I am fed since) to wake up to witness the amazing landing in Boston - as the airport is right at the sea, the plane seemingly grazing the ocean just before landing.
And not only are long distance flights less annoying (although I actually always like travel as much as arriving), it also prevents jetlag to start off with a totally disoriented body already!
Then again - living in a cheap (though acceptably clean and nice as well as well located) hostel possibly does little to enhance sleeping-in anyways.
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