I decided to start a blog. Shocking! :) It will be easier to keep in touch with everyone and let you know what is going on with me while I am gone. Honestly, I do not really have a clue how it works but I do want to be able to communicate with you. Maybe Alex can give me a few pointers. :)
So the flight to Hungary was quite uneventful. Shawna might not feel the same way though. She dropped me off and a minute later I texted her that there was a problem. I forgot to bring a document I needed to leave with USCIS on my way out. I can use the fact that I have a brand new passport and the document is attached to my old one as an excuse. However, this is not the first time this happens. It is normally not a big deal but since this time I want to make sure USCIS knows I am out of the country, it would have been nice to have it with me. And this after I snapped at Shawna for asking me if I had everything with me. I definitely had to eat my words this time. Sorry, Shawna!!!
The lady at the American Airline counter told me it should not be a big deal as Chicago can duplicate the document. However, when I got to Chicago they told me it was nothing to worry about. I am sure there are thousands of people forgetting about it all the time. But I will check with my attorney just to be sure.
The first flight was delayed an hour. It worked out just fine since this way I could watch my soccer game at the airport. It was fabulous and Madrid did win. I could also read all the Facebook messages that almost made my cry. Shawna, I did read your card on the plane from Chicago to London. Thank you!!!
The next stop was London. I forgot how meticulous the British can be. They checked our carry-ons and passports like five times before I could actually board. Not that they had not already been checked by the Americans. I was lucky enough to be able to charge my electronics at the airport. The charging is not an easy process. I had the converter (220V to 110V), then the adapter (British plugs are different), then the plug that allows me to charge more than one device at a time (what is it called?) and then the actual cable. People looked at me quite strangely but then what's new? :) I also had my last Starbucks run for a while.
The flights were alright. I could not sleep a lot but I liked the fact that I did not have to sit tight for more than 6 hours. I had a lot of gadgets - there was no wifi even on the transcontinental flight but I could read my nook -, I had my psp to play videogames and my laptop to play trivia games. And then of course there was my phone. Jim, by the way, it is better to email as all my emails are coming to my phone and it is free. I got your text but if I reply, I will have to pay an extra 50 cents for each. Or you could also FINALLY play words with friends with me and we could communicate through it. That is almost like texting. Pattimom, please do not despair, I also did read The good earth. I am halfway done. I had a hard time getting on with it but I actually like it now. I will be done by April 21st but I will not be back in the U.S. by then. So, we will either have to postpone the book club or we can use Skype. Because of course you cannot do it without me. :)
My Mom and my niece waited for me at the airport. My niece was a surprise. I did not expect her. For those of you who have Facebook, you can see the welcome picture she posted of us. Everyone says she looks quite like me. Then we drove to my home town where I set up the wifi. It is a good thing that my Mom is such a tech savvy lady. I need it for my gadgets. When I tried to start things up, I had to realize that Netflix does not serve any area outside of the U.S. I thought that if my device was bought in the U.S. and I pay for the account from America, then I will be able to watch movies and TV shows. It would have been nice. While there are more programs captioned in Hungary now it is still really limited. It was so odd to turn on the TV and not having captions. I am spoiled. Not that I ever watch a lot of TV but since the movie theater is also out of the picture, it would have been nice to have something.
Initially, I could not make the Words with friends work either. I thought the problem might be the same as with Netflix so I gave up on it. But when I woke up in the middle of the night - yes, the jetlag -, I gave it another try and it started up. I just needed to update. So I hope to play with you and we can chat that way too.
That was the first day. I have not yet seen my Dad as he is in rehab doing physical therapy and such. We will go to visit him tomorrow and he can come home for the weekend. I hope all is well with you. I miss you all!
Love,
Edina
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