The America I know

For once, I'm not writing on a train. I've traded it in for the crowded Lufthansa lounge in Munich, where sadly I've spent many hours. I had a 7hr layover (that's what cheap ticket Jen does), and have had a nice lunch of goulash washed down with Coke Zero as I slog through the massive mountain of emails. I'm hitting the usual Munich-lounge-afternoon-jetlag-slump and trying to power through. I arrived here after 10 hours of a flight from Denver. But let's back up a week. To a 4:40 AM pickup...

4:40AM- standing on my curb, waiting for the Uber I sprung for, to take me to the train station. There was a threat of rain, and my checked luggage bag didn't interest me in rolling it all the way down to the tram (busses don't run this early). So to the Gare I went! 

5:11AM- hop on the train to Brussels! Alternate napping, and keeping the suitcase from rolling away on the bends...

8:17AM- arrive in Brussels! Buy a ticket on the Belgian train app on my phone and hop on a train to the airport. 

9:00 AM- Brussels airport. Wow, was it packed!!! I finally navigated my way through dropping off my luggage, weaving through the copious amounts of families going on vacation, and snaked through the long security queues. Time to fly to Dulles! 

Noon: Flight to Dulles. I had an aisle seat, when I usually prefer window. It was fine, but not the best. Land at Dulles and snake through an entire terminal back-hallway, finally getting to passport control. Wait 20 min for my luggage, recheck it, grab Chik-fil-A spicy chicken sandwich, fries, and a diet sunjoy to fill my soul. And my soul needed it for the middle-seat on the 5+-hrs to Albuquerque! 

8:35PM: Dan picked me up in NM, and we went directly to a delicious birria taco dinner. I devoured all my tacos, while he ate only half of his!

Albuquerque: time with Dan was spent chilling (literally) in his AC apartment, meeting his colleagues via tours, BBQs, and events, and getting a personalized tour of the city, museum highlights, mountain cable car ride and driving to Four Corners, where Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico all meet together. Complete with an amazing bahn mi just as I barely made my flight!

From there, I flew to Great Falls, Montana to see Joe and Lily. They picked me up and we immediately had an ice cream, along with a brief city tour. The next morning, we went to Glacier National Park, had dinner at a fabulous Mexican restaurant, and spent the next few days at Walmart, Sam's Club, Old Navy, Sonic, and more state parks, old settlements, and chilling in their AC house. 

I had one final long layover in Denver, where luckily I got to spend a few hours with Madison! She picked me up from the airport, and we had a nice long albeit hot walk before piles of delicious chips and salsa and a productive Trader Joe's and ice cream runs. It's always lovely to spend time with her, and hear about her intentionality, dedication, and journey of building the future she wants. 

As Dan drove us the 4 hours (one way!) to Four Corners, I was in awe of my country and the gorgeous expanses of land, the incredible sunset in the rearview mirror, and the shockingly starry night. This trip, concurrent with the World Cup, was a reminder of all the best parts of the United States. From the woman at Dulles, who was sharing best practices to navigate passport control to our full flight and worried connection people, to the helpful volunteers at the nuclear and balloon museum, eager to share their knowledge with the next generation. The friendliness of the Uber driver who took me to Target, and the employees there who engaged in random small talk. I always encourage people to see the national parks, and I myself found the new states I visited on this trip absolutely breathtaking. The red rock formations, dry riverbeds, and vast expanses of New Mexico land were stunning. We took a slight detour to Shiprock, a formation that looks a lot like a ship in the middle of an otherwise flat expanse of land. It was visible for miles around in each direction. Driving back was the vast expanse of starry sky, unmarred by light pollution. 

Glacier was breathtaking in itself. The snow capped peaks were stunning, but my favorite were the rushing waterfalls that tumbled down the mountain side. We drove with the window open hearing the sound of water spraying down the rocks. The turquoise channels through the rivers were mesmerizing, the clear cold glacier water bubbling around. 

This is America to me. The small towns with old volunteers; the friendly people willing to offer comments and advice, even unsolicited though it may be. The salt of the earth people in their normal clothes, oversized cars, and green lawns. The vast expanses of sky that stretches seemingly endlessly over the continent; rock formations and rushing rivers. a natural beauty so breathtaking and unusual. People always offering to take other people's pictures, and quick to point out a loose article of clothing or other mishap awaiting to happen. The waiter oversharing on his family life, and bringing a check before you're even finished eating. 

Sure, it's not perfect. I could taste the sugar in everything from the sandwich bread to the lunch meat. The bright colors of my sister in-laws slushy were not natural at all. I felt my body bloating as I ate the corn dog and mac and cheese. My travel insurance luckily wasn't needed, but every time I book it I wonder if I will. The racism and ignorance is palpable, especially in these small towns. 

But America has an unparalleled beauty in its nature. The forests are much older than Europe. Everything is a trade-off, and there are plenty of less-than-ideal things about the US. But for a few days, I was reminded of how what a treasure we have, and filled with gratitude to be back and especially to celebrate America's birthday with her.