A long way and a relaxing holiday

It’s been hard carrying this secret for months; I told my family and friends that I was going to Thailand for the holidays. I couldn’t suppress my excitement on the long trip from Nagoya to Detroit. I was exhausted by the time I reached Detroit, around the same time of the same day that I left Nagoya. And I still had to contend with a 10 hours layover.

I’ve heard so many bad things about Detroit that I worried for weeks as to whether I should leave the airport to explore the city. I finally decided that if I could live in Sudan and travel in Yemen, I could find some areas of Detroit where I could feel safe in the daytime. But I refused to pay close to $50 to get there.

I got on the Smartbus at the airport, having decided to sit beside the driver. I almost lost my nerve when I got on the airport and found the driver calmly having a smoke in his seat. I hoped that this lawless behavior was not a bad omen. I kept my wits about me, observe everything closely as we drove through Detroit, going past many boarded, graffitied and deserted buildings. I kept watch for a safe place to get off. I decided to do so in the downtown area beside a Subway restaurant.

I walked around and grabbed coffee at the Au Bon Pain. There was a Hard Rock Cafe and mall nearby and a skating rink where many families seemed to be enjoying the beautiful winter day. I walked around the area before grabbing a taxi to take me to Livernois avenue to a hairdresser that I’d previously found.

I still had 4 hours to kill by the time I was finished at the hair dresser and had walked around the area looking for a nail bar that was open, to no avail. I called a taxi (as I’d had enough adventure for the day.)

I stayed overnight in Miami, just enough time to deal with all my Amazon.com orders. Between the packing, the time difference and my internet addiction, I only got three hours of sleep before heading to the airport.

As I sat at the airport waiting for my flight to board, I called my aunt to find out if the family would be home that day. As they called the flight, I started to wonder if it was such a good idea to surprise my grandmother. I called my aunt and told her that I was coming and that she shouldn’t tell anyone, knowing that she’d tell my grandmother if she thought it best. Four hours later, I was in St. Lucia. The immediate family all knew that I was coming.

I spent a little over two weeks in St. Lucia, visiting family and friends. It was a relaxing time in the heat, surrounded by familiarity and heat that make Japan seem a very long way away.

4 Comments

  1. January 4, 2010
    Reply

    Safe travels back to Japan. Happy New Year Damianne!

  2. January 4, 2010
    Reply

    you're my new hero!!! i remember when i surprised my family for the holidays one year from Korea. good times.

  3. January 4, 2010
    Reply

    Funny you went to Detroit meanwhile everybody who lives there is trying to get out. Check the population census for Detroit to know what I mean. Detroit may be the worst big city in US.

  4. January 16, 2010
    Reply

    …and all that time we never came across each other…I guess some other time .Good to know you had fun, hope you are doing well back in Japan and do continue the good work.By the way excellent writing …I continue to enjoy reading the of your experiences,maybe one day you may write a book …I would buy it lol lol I'm serious though you write very well.

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