Gouda's Cheesewheel

Home again, home again, jiggity-jog

Back at home safe and sound, as of Tuesday night.

Monday night was spent in Brussels, due to a 20 hour layover. The train ride to my hotel was pleasantly prompt, and since my bag was checked all the way through I only had to keep track of my carry-on. Explored the center of town and the Grande Place, then went back to my hotel and had a salad at a nearby Turkish restaurant (the neighborhood was heavily middle-eastern, to the extent that it felt a lot like Morocco in terms of restaurants and merchandise--where else in Europe do you see whole rows of hookahs for sale?). After calling home, had a couple of tasty Belgian beers at the hotel bar while discussing my travels with two Moroccan-Belgian immigrants. Then it was off to bed to rest up for the following day.

The flight from Brussels to Chicago was 9 hours long--unusually extensive due to strong head-winds. In any case I survived it, despite the stuffy head I'd woken up with at the hotel. Note: Airport bathrooms are indispensible sources of tissue. In Chicago I went through customs. Declared that I'd been around livestock so they sent me through the "I have something to declare" line, which basically just meant they sent my bag through a special scanner and then sent me on my way. At this point I had to recheck my bag, which was utterly confusing and required the assistance of three different people until I finally figured out what I was supposed to do. Arrived at my gate as they were boarding, which I would say is pretty darned good timing. Security was normal--nowhere near as strict as in Brussels, where I was not only questioned in detail before receiving my boarding pass, but also had to pass an additional security checkpoint (besides the regular one) in order to enter the "US Flight Zone," as I would call it.

In any case those are the stories of my journey home. Now I've started classes again, which is pleasant enough in spite of my head/chest cold. I just need to sleep a lot before the work load gets bigger, which it inevitably will.

Ta ta everyone.

posted by Greta @ 4:12 PM