Before the Departure (One Year Ago Today - prologue)

DAY ONE!!!!

It has finally come to post this. The time I've been waiting for!


Last year, I was soooo excited for this day, you have no idea.
I bet you have an idea, actually.

Ever been forever planning for something that you thought would never happen?
And then-
                IT HAPPENS??!
That accompanied feeling.... is what I had.
So, let's take a moment to share the excitement.
.
..
...
AH! :D

Okay, but now, let me tell you the background of how this trip happened, before it happened:


In September of 2011, for my 18th birthday, my father came up to me (after my 90's theme birthday party):

"Angelina, you have turned 18 now." (this is basically what he said.)
   "Yep, Dad. I'm an adult."
"You know, when Diana was 18, I took her to Europe..."
   "Dad, she was almost 18."
"Doesn't matter. Same month. Now...."

(notice how I completely missed the whole Europe part & went straight to how old my sister was??
Shows I really care about her, huh? ;] Or, that I miss relevant things completely)

"Now, Angelina, this is a special birthday, and we want to give you a special gift--"
   "What kind of gift?"
"Just listen. You have an option. Either, we can get you a car, or... we can go to Europe, the two of us."

Moment of silence ensued.

Mind boggled,
heart raced,
thoughts plundered by emotions....
then a bitter split of choice,

and my dad expectantly staring at me.


But, c'mon: was there really an option??

   "Mmm... let's go to Europe."

Now, I'm sure you know the conversation didn't end there, but what happened afterward can be essentially encompassed like so:

He said "deal", and it took us 11 months before we would fly out.

I mean, technically, it could almost have been considered my 19th birthday gift, since it was much closer than to my 18th.
Almost.

Now, since I was a college student & a senior in high school at the time, I could not afford to skip two weeks from any term. Going during Christmas-season would be difficult & less exciting for many reasons, but mainly for weather & jacked Christmas-sized price tags on everything. (But winter is a good off-season, nonetheless). So, my father and I actually began the logistics process in June to leave in July.

And quite funny, a few problems arose.


First, the Olympics. 

Usually, the Olympics are never a problem for anyone. (Except in 1980)
Now, for those of you who do not know, my father contributed to a Bronze Medal runner by literally making his shoes, 3 pairs to be exact. Yes, this supports my view of him as Shoe Genius (and I helped, too!)

We who watch the Olympics can pass the thought that all the Olympic finalizings happen from June to July, not in August, when it begins airing on T.V.

So, Dad was constantly busy and meeting shoe deadlines, while I half-wittingly took a month break from my amazing job at the PCC bookstore (apply if you want before terms start ;]), thinking July was the vacation month.


Second, my graduation(s).

Since the last few weeks of HS & college are always hectic, the whole idea of leaving in July failed, because I was meeting my own elementary (my dear Watson) deadlines in June!

First, it was the teenager luncheons at the public school, then it was the constant advisory meetings, then it was the actual ceremonies of long, digressive talkers who bid you well & hand over to you your worth in years, called "diploma" & "certificate of achievement".

Mind you, all of these achievements were satisfactory road blocks to planning for another satisfaction of a lifetime: Europe in 1st hand experience.


Third, my passport.

Hold the phone- what??? Yes, my passport was a problem.
This world traveler had an expiring passport?
ex·pire:

1.

to come to an end; terminate, as a contract, guarantee, or offer.

2.

to emit the last breath; die.

3.

to breathe out.

4.

to die out, as a fire.

pass·port:
1.

an official document issued by the government of a country to one of its citizens and, varying from country to country, authorizing travel to foreign countries and authenticating the bearer's identity,citizenship, right to protection while abroad, and right to reenter his or her native country.

...
3.

any authorization to pass or go somewhere.

So, basically:
                     My passport was about to be snuffed out and I could have lost reentry back home if we left to Europe without finding the problem. The Europeans might not have cared, but the Americans at our returning airports would have checked it out & told me to finish the problem overseas before I come back to the homeland.

Thank our good God that He opened our eyes the last week of July.
(He often works like that: our last minute, to depend on Him to control & fix the situation. Which, He did! :])


After all of these problems arising, Dad & I changed plans for a trip in August instead.

So, my month break at work was 'bout to turn into a 2-month hiatus, and I for sure felt that my wonderful boss was going to fire me (mmm, should I mention, that I had barely been working there for 6 months?)
(P.S. She still kept me! Probably because I brought back Swiss chocolates)

Now, how the problems were resolved:

First, the Olympic shoes were shipped off! Yay!
Second, I finished my graduations! Yay!

Third, calls for a story: (yay?)

So, the last week of July, we find out my passport expires in August.
By safety regulations, you should not travel within your 6 months of your passport expiration.
I was flying out the next week. I needed the Seattle Passport Agency.

I called them Wednesday, August 1st. No help.
I called them Thursday, August 2nd. They said help could come in 2 weeks.
I was hopeless.

Dad called them Thursday, August 2nd. After the phone call, he approached me:

"Angelina, you have to be at the agency at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow. Find someone to drive with you. Grab your documents, and when you arrive, ask for this person." (my memory cannot recollect the name)

I mean, how does he DO this?? I tried calling them for 2 days, multiple times, and I get nothing.
He calls them ONCE and gets me connections.

I thank God for my genius father.

I call my dear friend, Larisa, that afternoon, and ask for her to come on an emergency trip to Seattle with me the next day.
(Wouldn't it always be lovely to have an emergency trip to Seattle? :]]])

And bada-bing-bada-boom: I went to Wal-Greens for 1-hour photo & was over at her house with blessings & important papers by that evening.

At 4:30 a.m., we booked it straight to Seattle, just us two & our devious minds. If the whole trip just encompassed the need for a new passport, I would tell you that my nerves freaked me out all day, as God taught me to be patient & trust in His wisdom, not my own.
(And I did receive my passport that afternoon.)

But because we were in Seattle, we had some fun in our spare time while waiting...

... and God also taught me to be thankful for patient friends.

The whole time we were waiting in line at the agency, I kept telling Larisa:

"What if they don't accept my papers or I forgot a document and we have to go all the way back home?? I won't get it in time!"

She kept calming me with a patient rebuke:

"Ange, trust in God. Don't let your unstable feelings guide you. You brought all you needed, and now, we just trust God to finish this process. Worrying won't help you in any way."

Thank you, Larisa, for being so dear & real to me. :]


Anyway, to finish up:

God solved all of the problems, and Dad's promise to take me to Europe was about to unravel in 5 days.


So now, back to the beginning.... how the first day of the trip started....

Read my next post! :D