Nostalgia Part Two: Arrival

I remember the first time I stepped into the Ball State bus in the Indianapolis International airport. It was cold day and one of the last ones we experienced. Mary and Mike fetched us inside and Eric and Shawna were doing what they do best: capturing priceless moments behind the lenses. I sniffed the air.... and yeah. Did it smell great. Here's the video of our arrival:

                             

I'm really here!

I was in a state of disbelief. I couldn't believe that I was there. I have always dreamed of being in the US, but not in this stage of my life. The journey to Indianapolis from Detroit wasn't a smooth one. We had to go through Customs and immigration and had to make a 20-minute window in order to get to our next flight. The immigration officer who interviewed me was a blonde middle-aged woman who seemed to be pretty nice. She asked about the stuff on my luggage, what was I doing there and etc. I had my passport stamped and luggage retrieved when, to my horror, we had less than ten minutes to get to our flight to Indy. Me and Gabriel left our luggage to an intimidating black man twice as large as I am who was putting bags on ramps. We then ran for like, minutes, without regard for other things except making our flight. We took the electric train to get to our boarding gate and to our relief, it was delayed. Our other companions made it afterwards.

While were on the bus heading to Ball State, I couldn't stop looking out at the window. I then realized... it was my first glimpse of the USA while on the ground.

Indianapolis International Airport Control Tower

Lucas Oil Stadium. I was like... NO WAY.

                         
I remember the first questions I asked Suzy. Where do the Pacers play? Where do the Colts play? I later found out that Lucas Oil was just a few blocks away from the Bankers Life Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers (3rd seeds baby!)
I didn't pay much attention to the chatter around me. I was hell-bent on looking at the window, trying to see every bit of America. And before I knew it, I fell asleep.

I woken up by Suzy and felt really tired (jet lag and sleep deprivation came in play). We had arrived at Ball State University.

WOOOOOOO

After the formalities, Suzy left us while Eric stayed to get some pizza (YUM) and give us a tour. We were then ushered to our rooms. I WAS EFFING FORTUNATE. There were only a few rooms in the dormitory with air conditioning. ONE OF THEM HAPPENED TO BE MINE. MINE. BWAHAHAHA. It proved to be Godsend since the days to come were as hot as in the Philippines, minus the humidity.

I had an air conditioned room to myself, a cabinet and a study table. What more could I ask for! YAHOO!

Let's just end here. :)

Part three will tackle the first days of SUSI BSU. =D 'Til next time!