I’m back!!! I made it to San Francisco and I’m doing well! 
It was a long trip though….
Let me tell you…
On Tuesday I had to be at Schiphol Amsterdam airport at 10.30 am, because my flight was scheduled to depart at 12.50 am. Since it had been freezing during the night in Holland (about -10 Celsius / 14 degrees), the roads were slippery and there was a lot of traffic. The news was reporting lots of crashes cause of the icy roads. Just to be sure we left the house early (at 8 am). With ‘we’ I mean just me and my dad. I’m not good at saying my goodbyes and saying goodbye at airports is ten times worse…. So it was just my dad who drove me to the airport. Anyway, it took us 2 hours (in stead of the regular 1 hour), but we arrived at the airport in one piece.
At the airport all I had to do was drop off my two (giants!) suitcases, I had already checked in online the day before. Of course (knowing me with all my clothes and shoes!) my suitcases were too heavy, so they made me pay the fee. I was only 3 kilo (6.5 pounds) over, but the airline (US Airways) were very strict about it, so I had no choice but to pull out my creditcard.
After that, I proceeded to go to customs and then to the gate. As far as security at the airport: no different than usual. Got the regular ‘who packed your bags and where are you going to’ interview (standard for trips to the US), had the regular security check at the gate and that was that. They didn’t even ask about my immigrant visa (a separate page in my Dutch passport). Oh, and there was no fancy bodyscan either! After they made sure I wasn’t a terrorist or a crazy person, a lot of waiting began… The flight was really full and we ended up taking off an hour later than planned.
The first flight (I had a connecting flight in Philadelphia) was ok. I slept for most of it, I think. I didn’t watch the in-flight movie (some Jennifer Anniston movie), but listened to podcasts instead. Many many hours later I arrived at the Philadelphia airport. I had less than 2 hours to make my second flight. Apparently six (!) planes landed at the same time there, which resulted in super long lines at customs. I was in line for 2 hours….sigh. Oh, the cutest thing: they had tiny little dogs sniffing everybody. These police dogs were so cute! I’m not sure which breed they were, but it was the funniest to see!
Anyway, after two hours in line it was my turn. I’ve been to the US many times before, but in stead of the regular questions and the taking my finger prints and iris scan, they sent me to the ‘secondary inspections’. This was because I was traveling on my immigrant visa. Secondary inspections was a separate area and of course it was super crowed. Here I had to wait for another hour. Then an officer holding my passport called my name. I wasn’t asked any questions though. My finger prints were taken and I had to sign some papers for my Green card. They told me that the card was going to be mailed to me within 6 months and that was that.
After that I picked up my luggage (still those two giant suitcases…lol) and went to the airline desk. By then I had long missed my flight. Unfortunately there I received some disappointing news: the flight that I missed, was the last flight of the day to San Francisco! Iiiek! The next flight was in the morning (it was about 9 pm local time then) at 7 am. The flight was full, but they put me on standby. I was confirmed for a flight at 3 pm. I was really bummed…. I had to spend the night in Philadelphia, without even knowing for sure when my next flight was. But I have to admit, the airline handled it well though. I was given a hotel voucher for the Sheraton Suites at the airport and a meal voucher.
So yeah, I took the shuttle to the hotel where a ‘sweet’ suite was waiting for me! I called my boo and my parents, took a long hot bath (it was cold in Philadelphia!), watched a movie on HBO and went to bed. The next morning I got up bright and early (4 am) and took the shuttle back to the airport. I had breakfast there (yay, for American food! – even if it’s airport food) and went to the gate. After waiting for everyone to board the plain, my name was called. Thankfully a passenger hadn’t shown up and I was given a seat! Yay!
The flight to San Francisco was good too. I slept for a few hours and when I woke I read my book. Oh, and I did some Sudoko! First time ever! 
After about 7 hours I arrived in San Francisco where my boo was waiting for me! I was SO happy to see him, I can’t even describe… ♥♥
We drove home (our temp home), where I had a looooong shower and unpacked my stuff. After that we made a quick Target run where I got some storage bins and hangers for my closet (more about that later). In the evening Marston took me out for dinner ♥ And luckily it was happy hour! W00t! I had my first cocktail as a US resident! Woohooo!!!
More updates coming up! If you have Twitter, follow me there too! I’m @Kizzy
