I entered the airport. I was amazed to see that the airport was so big that I thought I would get lost. There were a lot of people carrying their luggage. I was carrying a small, dark blue bag, and inside was the souvenirs from my classmates and friends.
My parents put our luggage into a machine that keeps going and going. They told me that we'll pick it up later when we reach Canada. We went through a machine that x-rays hand carry-on bags, and then we were inspected by some people for harmful devices like nail cutter or knives. They wanted to make sure that their passengers will be safe during the flight at exactly 9AM.The process in the airport was long and tiring in order to get to the bottom. We had to wait for about two more hours until we reached the waiting area. I asked my parents if I could call my best friend, Danica. I had forgotten that she told me to call her before I go.
They agreed and gave me money to buy a phone card.
Luckily, there were stores that carried phone cards at the airport. I called her at about 7:30 in the morning with a telephone booth. The phone rang twice before someone answered the phone.
"Hello?"A woman's voice answered.
I knew it was Danica's mom.
"Hello! This is Cyndi. I'm at the airport right now. Is Danica there?"I asked.
"Oh Cyndi! It's you! Well she went to school early this morning. Would you like to leave a message?" Danica's mom requested.
"Sure! Could you please tell her that I'm going to miss her and I'll try to call her again as soon as I get there?" I replied. Danica's mom agreed and hung up the phone.
I bought some snacks while waiting for it to be 9AM. At about 8:30AM, the stewardess paged our flight. We went through the door that would lead us to the airplane. I felt kind of sad that I wasn't able to talk to Danica, but at that moment, I'm too excited to see the inside of the airplane. As we reached the end of the hall, there were two stewardess’ that kept greeting people who passed by. As we reached them, my mom showed her our plane tickets and then she let us in.
My eyes grew wide and I felt like exploding because I couldn't believe that I was inside the airplane. I didn’t have a camera that time because I was only eleven years old. We found our seats and then put the seat belts on. I put my hand carry-on below because I wanted to read Danica's letters as well as letters from my other friends. We were seated in the middle of the plane, away from the windows.
I was amazed that the airplane had a small television attached and I've always wanted a mini TV like that. There was also a remote that could switch channels or allow us to listen to music. It was my first time seeing them. At exactly 9AM,the airplane started to move while the stewardess were explaining procedures on how to put seat belts on and what to do during an emergency on the plane. The airplane moved faster and faster and at last, we were flying. I felt like I was the one flying, not the airplane. I didn’t know how to say it in words but I was so happy that I got to ride on it since it was my first time after all. We were to stop over at Hong Kong. I tried to peek through the other's windows, although I was far away, I could see the green Philippine Islands.
After awhile, all I could see were white clouds. I wondered if they had a bathroom here. The flight was to be three hours long. I decided to read more letters from my classmates and friends. They were all very touching, and I wanted to cry but I couldn’t because my parents were beside me. I didn't want them to see me like that because I would cry even more and I didn’t want them to feel guilt or pity me for making me moving to Canada. I started to feel sad as I read my best friend's letter. I wished we didn't have to move. I didn't know what adjustments I should make before I get there, but all I knew is that there will be a lot. I wished that this would only be a fieldtrip and that when this airplane lands, I would be back at the Philippines again.
They said that there were many pine trees, a lot of snow and cold in Canada. But I was fine without those things because I've already seen them on pictures. I was happy about that because at least I knew what they looked like but I didn't plan to ever see them in real life. I watched cartoons on the mini television to forget about my homesickness. It made me a bit happier to not think about it for awhile. The stewardess offered us food, drinks, and some snacks. After about an hour or so, we landed at Hong Kong. I grabbed my hand carry-on and got off. We went into another long hallway in another airport. My parents told me that we were in Hong Kong. We'd be here for a couple of hours to wait for the next flight. Now I truly believed that other countries really existed. We went through some more processes again like the x-rays and the checking for harmful materials before we reached the waiting area. The building was filled with windows that you could see through and watch the other airplanes refueling.
I also saw a mountain and I asked my parents about it.
"What is that mountain?"I said.
"That's The Philippines, Cyndi." my mom replied.
"We've just crossed The Philippines." my dad added.
"Oh...I thought it was a mountain."I mumbled.
I thought to myself, *I've just left The Philippines. I want to go back to that land that I thought was a mountain* I'm so far away now even though I could still see some of its land. I really wanted to go back at that time, even if I had to swim through the ocean and get bitten by sharks, I'd do it just to get back, but I knew that it was impossible because I didn't even know how to swim. The stewardess called the flight again. That flight was the longest flight ever, it took sixteen hours to get from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada.
The stewardess again offered us some food and drinks but on that flight, there was no mini TV. Instead, there was a big one, but I didn't really like it because it did not show cartoons. We did not sit near the windows. I fell asleep, feeling really exhausted from carrying my luggage. It was such a long day and finally we were landing in Canada. I tried to peek at other passenger’s windows again, and saw something white. I thought that it was snow. As we landed, we still had one more trip to go because Vancouver is just another stop over. Our destination was really Winnipeg, Canada. The airport again was really big and there was a huge fountain in the center of the airport which was really cool.
There were a lot of people of different races; white, black, Asian and more. There was a huge line to get our luggage. I was so tired of waiting and finally we got our turn. People kept speaking English all the time. Others were speaking their own languages that I did not understand. I was able to understand some of the English, but when they spoke too fast I could not understand. We were immigrants and could not understand their slang. We got our luggage and went off to another flight even though I was really tired. It was a five hour flight but the good thing about that flight was that I got to sit by the window. I was so happy to be able to see so much of the scenery. During that flight, there was no mini TV, but at least the window would entertain me.
I saw the snow from the outside of the window. I wondered what snow felt like. I wanted to make a snowman like the ones I saw on American films. I wished that this was all just a dream, or a beautiful nightmare and that when I wake up, I would be on my bed at my house again just like any other day. But this was not a dream, this was reality. I fell asleep again and when I woke up, I was almost kissing the window. It was already dark and I could see some lights from below, similar to candle lights.
I asked my mom and dad, "Are we at the cemetery?" I was half-asleep so I didn’t quite know what I was saying.
"No it's not. That's just the lights below on the streets." my dad said.
"Oh I thought we're landing at a cemetery." I replied. My mom giggled and wouldn't stop laughing at me.
We landed at Winnipeg at about 7PM. My aunt who lived in Canada for almost twenty-seven years now was there to accompany us. I was so dead tired, wondering where we live now. She gave us thick coats and we were ready to go outside. She brought some of her family friends to help us with our luggage. My mom and I went outside the airport in Winnipeg while my dad and my aunt's friends help him with the luggage. I was shocked because for the first time I was stepping on real snow. I couldn't believe it. I was seeing snow and even though it was really cold, it felt like I wouldn’t get frozen.
We went into the parking lot with my aunt. We rode in her grey car and we waited for my dad and the others who brought their own cars too. The place felt very new and different to me. I couldn’t explain much of the scenery that I saw since it was already night and it was very hard to see even though the area was completely covered in white snow. I kept thinking about what time it was in the Philippines right now. If I was there right now, I would probably be at school with my friends and classmates. I wondered how they were. I promised myself that when I came back to The Philippines, I would cherish each moment with my relatives, especially my grandma because I forgot to say goodbye to her. I felt silly because she's the only grandma I have, since all of my grandparents are now in heaven. I wanted to tell her just how much I loved her as I tried not to feel lonely. I should be happy instead.
Everyone wouldn’t be happy seeing me like this. I decided to make them my inspirations in life. Whenever I try to achieve a goal, I will always think about them. I will dedicate my goals to them. We reached a ten-floor apartment and my aunt said we’re going to live here for now. My aunt's friends helped us with our luggage. They served us a dinner of chicken and many other kinds of food. They told us to eat as much as we wanted because we were tired from the long trip. Then, they had some time chatting even though I really didn’t talk that much. After the dinner party, all of them left except for my parents. We had to sleep in one bed, and I was used to it since childhood. I never had my own bed before. We only had one big room in our apartment that was large enough to be separated into two.
My mom slept in the middle with me and my dad on both sides of her. I was lying down, looking through the window. I stared at the big, full moon, thinking that the moon and the sun were very lucky because they could reach any country. Then, I looked at the stars that gleamed brightly and smiled while crying quietly. I smiled because I knew that those stars would reach my loved ones that are now far away from me and I hoped that they would smile too when they see the stars and remember me.
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Based on a true story.Thanks for reading,please do comment.
Credits to Skye for beta-reading this Chapter.
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