Back in the USA

                                             Expat Living in Malta

                  You Can Go Back Home...

                    If You Know Where it is...

 

 

 

                        John F. Kennedy  International Airport in New York City

 

 

I taught my first English lesson to a young Japanese man sitting next to me on the plane to New York.  We hadn't spoken a word in over an eight-hour flight.

 

I did, however, almost grab his arm during about 20 minutes of terrible turbulence nearing JFK airport.  I was so nervous during that flight that I almost put on my life jacket just in case.

 

When we landed, everyone started clapping.  For the first time, he spoke to me, asking my why people were doing this thing--clapping.

 

He left the plane knowing his first real English phrase:  Because we're alive.

 

As soon as the gratefulness of having landed subsided,  I was already angry in the baggage collection section because they were charging $3 for a baggage cart; in all of Europe, it's free.

 

After a 90-minute ride in traffic from JFK to my daughter's place(and a $55 taxi tab), I was able to think about what it was like back being in the US.

It was great seeing my daughters B and R.  B even said that it seemed natural to see me at the moment; it didn't seem like I had traveled so far to see her.  Maybe she was getting used to the whole thing of me living in Malta, she said. 

 

And that sounded good to me.

Comments

[Sennuwy (an ancient Egyptian name)]

Hey, there Steffie girl!!! So good to hear from you. Will email you right now. Thanks for the clapping info xxxx Ilene

[Steffe warrington]

hey =) it's Steffe, stopping to see how things are going =)

Btw, clapping when you land is something the Maltese do, kind of like a tradition, to congratulate the pilot for getting you safely on the ground. =) Not all maltese do it, but whenever you hear clapping you know that most of the people on the plane are maltese ^^ bit of culture for you haha

xx