Field School: The Journey Home (Las Vegas)

     The flight from Atlanta wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. During our boarding, we were told that if we had rolling carry-ons, they would have to be checked and put in the hold, but I had prepared for that and removed the bag I had from Bulgaria - I had put all the souvenirs into my Balkan Heritage Field School tote bag and then put that inside my I <3 Bulgaria drawstring bag that I had used as my dig bag for the past week (I realized on the flight later I had forgotten to take my passport out of my roller carry-on and was frantically praying to Hermes to at least let me get that bag back if nothing else because how did I forget to remove my passport). The seats were a bit roomier than the ones on the Paris flight because there were significantly fewer people on this flight, so the seats were slightly bigger. The flight was supposed to be four hours and sixteen minutes long.
     I met someone named Dawn Rose on the way into the flight because she and I had seats near each other, but her traveling companion had a seat higher up in the plane. Both a person behind her and I told her they were willing to switch with him if she wanted; the other woman ended up switching, so I kept my aisle seat, which was next to Dawn Rose's aisle seat, so we talked for a bit because I told her I was on a dig in Bulgaria, so we talked about archaeology for a while, and she told me where she traveled, before we both went to do our own things.
     The flight had a snack, so I had a weird "cookie" that tasted like doughy cake and some Coke. When they had come back, I asked what they had for hot drinks, and I got tea and asked for their cookies, which complemented the black tea well. The flight had been blasting cold air at us (the downside to the aisle seat and being short is that I can't reach anything above me like the controls for that) the whole flight, and before we took off, they made an announcement that there were no blankets on board because Atlanta had a shortage, so they didn't take any. I was so cold that I made more trips to the bathroom than usual (as soon as I felt the slightest need to go) just so that I could warm up a little bit. At one point during the first bathroom trip, someone pushed on the door with a lot of force, so I yelled "Whoa," because, dude, I am doing my business in here, please wait for a second, the door says occupied.
     Despite the fact that the airline was selling headsets for $2 a piece, I just did what I had done on my first flight out of Vegas, and watched movies with subtitles and no earpieces. I put on Love, Simon again, so if I nodded off for a bit, it wasn't that big of a deal. The final stretch of the time, I put on Thor: Ragnarok, and nodded off during that a few times as well. I kept checking my watch because I was so anxious to get home.
     Once we landed, I gathered all of my things and began to message Folklore Fiancé. They were already at the airport, and once I was let out, I was at gate D34. Folklore Fiancé said they had been at a different gate first, but then went to information. I asked them to call me, and they had told me where they were waiting. We decided to head to the carousel for my luggage and meet there. They asked me if I wanted them to grab my bags if they saw them. I said yes, if they could, but to be careful with the large luggage. Right after they said that, they saw the small one already, and while we were on the phone, told me they grabbed the big one too. We stayed on the phone until I found them waiting by the number 14 carousel. We hugged and my knee popped, so I had to sit for a minute.
     Folklore Fiancé led the way to their aunt's car where she was waiting for us in the parking garage. My luggage was a little worse for wear and it didn't have my lock on it anymore, even though I had a TSA-approved lock, which really irritated me. I didn't see it inside my luggage, either, and I am still angry about it because it was a brand new lock I had bought before I went. We loaded up the car and headed home. We talked about the dig, and I shared some snacks I had bought in Bulgaria with them, and we finally got home around 11 p.m.
     I gave everyone their presents that I had for them: I got Nana a pepper shaker and a magnet that was a mini mortar and pestle; I got three souvenir spoons (one silver, two ceramic) for my aunt-in-law, my sibling-in-law got a Bulgarian wooden flute, and Folklore Fiancé was given socks with traditional Bulgarian designs on it, a miniature notebook that was the very kitschy souvenir design but I knew they would like, a pegasus necklace, and then a necklace with a large charm with Bulgarian embroidery on it. They said they had never seen embroidery on a necklace before and seemed super excited about it, so I was glad I made the right decision on buying it.
     Folklore Fiancé heated up some kielbasa for me before I went to take my shower and soak my feet (because they are very swollen), and we went to bed late. This is my last blog post about my field school trip for the Pistiros excavation of 2018 through the Balkan Heritage Field School!
     That is, of course, until I go again next season 😉

Field School: The Domestic Flight

     Here I am, sitting at the D gate, waiting for my flight. It boards around 11:30 and we are scheduled to leave at 12:18. So, I thought, another blog post before I get on my flight to Detroit! One of the downsides of going so far to Europe in the summer is the airlines are all very expensive if you don't have a bunch of connecting flights. I'm waiting for my flight to Detroit, and then in Detroit, I will be waiting about two hours to go to Paris. Once I'm in Paris, it's another two-hour wait until I get to Sofia. So, lots of waiting.
     My intention was to sleep in this morning until at least 7 a.m., but my fiancé's cat had other plans and woke me up at 4:30. I had to get up to go to the bathroom, and he and my fiancé's other cat ran out of the bedroom when I opened the door. My cat, Athena, usually sleeps in the closet and doesn't get along with other cats, so she usually stays in there. My fiancé's cats have the advantage of having lived in that house before, so they warmed up to it much quicker. I did manage to fall back asleep and was woken up by my alarm clock at 7 a.m. My fiancé got up and did their morning thing and I got dressed right away because I was anxious. I made sure I had my watch on and everything together. I frantically packed last night and forgot to put some of my snacks in my carry on (oops).
     I ate breakfast and had a chai that my fiancé so graciously made me (honestly without them, I would struggle to feed myself half the time) and grabbed the leftover Euro I had in my car from when I studied abroad in 2008 and 2009 to France and Italy and put it in my new wallet. One of the 2 cent Euro coins I separated for an offering to Hermes. I used my car key to dig a shallow hole next to the mailbox where I currently lived and buried the coin there. I poured a small libation of my morning chai to Hermes and said a small prayer. The contemporary Hellenic Pagan delighted in doing such a simple ritual that made me feel much better about traveling.
     My aunt-in-law drove me and my fiancé to the airport and we managed to go the wrong way a couple times! McCarran International Airport is HUGE and it was so intimidating. I had only flown out of Chicago, Philadelphia, and Newark (NJ) up until this point, so this was definitely an experience. I got through the baggage check pretty easily and the longest wait was while I was in line for security. As I waited in line for security, a heavy feeling washed over me because it was a feeling I hadn't felt in a while: it was how at home I felt at the airport. Hermes is my patron god, after all, so it makes sense that I would find comfort in an airport where travelers from all over the world are bustling by, a plethora of languages flying from their tongues. It gave me a sense of calm and belonging I haven't felt in a long time.
     Everything went by with no issue whatsoever, but I did take off my shoes and gather things together rather quickly so I could dump it all in the buckets and scurry over to the scanner. Once I had gathered all my belongings back up, I got my shoes on and repacked what needed to be repacked, and headed to towards the D Gate. However, I didn't see the gate, but a tram pulling towards us. It seemed that were were to take a tram to the D gates! I've never taken a tram inside an airport before. I've taken the L / El (I use both interchangeably; sorry if it's wrong, Chicago!) into the Chicago O'Hare International Airport but walked everywhere once I was checked in. So, that was an experience!
     Once I got off the tram, I headed straight to the D gate and sat down. I was having trouble finding an outlet and I was worried about my phone having enough charge (it was already at 59% even though it was at 100% at 7 a.m., but I had been using it until 10 a.m., so it was a little drained by then). The first outlet I found didn't work so I moved to another spot. Eventually, an outlet became available and I'm letting my phone charge while I write this blog post! My flight should be boarding in about forty minutes, so I'm debating on whether to read or write once I'm done with this blog post.
     But, knowing me, I might just bounce around on social media until it's time to board.
     Detroit, here I come!