Day 1: The Arrival

Friday, 2 November 2012

Taken at Hong Kong International Airport.

Hello LA! 

"Cabin crew please prepare for landing," the pilot announced briefly. This is what I have been wanting to hear from the pilot at the very start of the flight. I am here at last.

Once my mom and I stepped out of the plane, we were greeted with warm smiles by the person in charge at the immigration. Although his smile lingered on his lips, his voice had such authority that made us tremble a little when we made small conversations with him. We had no problems with our bags and we were soon out of the airport.

The cool crisp LA air came rushing into my nose. The cooling scent remained in my nose and I was glad that my smell receptors didn't shut them out. The air that I was taking in was so familiar and at the same time, it was all so foreign. This was also the time that I came into realization about how much I miss America; how much I missed its style, its beauty, its wonders, its accent... Well, it was great to be back and I thank God for that.

The flight was terrible, to be frank. I had problems with the airplane's food and the worst part is, I don't know why am I having this problem. I love food so much, but somehow I can't seem to handle the smell of airplane's food. Just a tiny scent of it makes me want to puke. However, they served ice-cream during one of the meals and that turned out to be the only thing I ate in the plane. Now that I have arrived my destination, I'm glad that I'll have at least another 21 days to prepare myself for another round of endless horrifying hours in the air.

Uncle Sam (one of my brother's closest friend), along with his super adorable 3-year-old son, came to fetch us from the airport. It was so kind of him to purposely drive from Irvine (a small town located south of California) to come fetch us. My mom and I haven met him before this, so we were worried how things were going to turn out, but surprisingly it wasn't awkward for us.

An hour passed without us knowing and we arrived our house. Yes, our house in Irvine. It's by God's grace that my parents managed to purchase the house early this year. For that, I thank God once again. My mom has been waiting for this moment ever since she bought it. It was a huge leap of faith to purchase a house through the internet with only limited amount of pictures of the house. And it's true that God always makes a way when there seems to be no way. Our house is beautiful. It might appear to be a little small to some, but it's perfect for us.

My brother has been living alone ever since the house was bought. However, he wasn't lonely anymore when he brought in Buddy and Sox. They are the most beautiful creatures. They are so tiny and they have a mind of their own. It's such a joy to have them around and they are always so friendly. They will run up to you and start licking your face like there's no tomorrow. Somehow they look much smaller than the pictures my brother showed me which made them to appear cuter.

Well, what can I say, I just love them to bits, except the licking part.