Welcome to America! First Stop: The Windy City!

Yey! Internet access..finally. I'm now in South Carolina..got here yesterday via Greyhound bus. Haha! That was an experience to remember. That'll top the charts. Criminy..my Dad couldn't make up his mind whether we should take the bus, the plane or the train. Obviously, we ended up riding the bus..but oh no...not just any bus. It's the Greyhound bus. The bus for the common people. The bus for the hicks, the blacks and for tourists like us looking for adventure. Every individual who rode the bus was a character, as my dad would say it and he could write a book about it. I'll save that for later...


First stop: Chicago, the Windy City

After 15+ hours of plane ride, we finally made it. Zaza and I were just tired when we got to O'Hare International Airport, the world's busiest airport. When Tito Emi asked us how we felt when we finally step foot in the US of A..Haha. I didn't even think of that... Well we had a connecting flight in Detroit so that was the first time we step foot in America. But we were just so frikkin tired that all we were thinking was.. FINALLY!! We could sleep in a bed!

I'm a city girl by heart I guess so I loved everything about Chicago..except it's unpredictable weather. It's soo cold and the wind just makes it worse. I remember when I was younger I wanted to have winter so I could wear all the cool clothes, but damn it. It wasn't even snowing and I was going crazy. I loved it nevertheless. The structures were beautiful. It was clean, and there were lotsa colorful tulips around. It was amazing. Tita Babet's place was the little Italy and it was really cute. I finally met my adorable cousins.

Estefano is a really smart kid. Only in kindergarten but has the reading comprehension of a 5th grader, knows a lot about dinosaurs and he's very philosophical. During Sebastian's baptism, he asked us what the water was for.

Me: It's so that our original sins will be washed away.
E: Where did we get our original sins?
Me: From our ancestors, Adam and Eve.
E: Who is Adam and Eve?
Me: They are the first humans on earth.
E: No. Cavemans were the first humans on earth.

As much as I want to continue the discussion, I've ran out of answers. That's science vs. religion already and c'mon that''ll be endless and I dunno if he'll understand that...other than tha..he'sg ood-looking of course, we all know which side of the family he got that from (haha!). But he drove me nuts. I've a lot of cousins in the Philippines and took care of them but he's just different. He did the opposite of everything his mom told him to do, whines a lot, eats all the sweets but remains thin as a toothpick..well that's all he eats, very hot tempered. According to him, he's a "juvenile" and he "wants to be spoiled."

Enzo. Cute Enzo. Well, he's autistic. He's three years old but has the mind of a one year old. Likes spinning things, watches Baby Einstein and Phonics over and over and over again. Bumps his head a lot on the walls and the floors. He has his own world, that I don't think we'll ever understand. Eats only cereals, biscuits, and his "nene" a.k.a milk. He doesn't want to be parted with his dad. Still not toilet trained so he runs around the house with his diapers. Jumps up and down while watching TV. Loves to play rough games..and cries when he sees my dad. Hehe..

Sebastian. Huggable Sebastian. Seven months old. The most behaved of the three. (I wonder why?! Haha..let's wait til he learns how to walk.) He's a white kid. He has began crawling and when we left, he's already trying to stand up. By the time I see him again, for sure, he'll be running around. Loves to be carried around and loves baby talk.

Enough about the kids. Tito Fabian. Oh criminy. Sometimes he's okay, other times I'm just irritated to death. He talks about Lolo and Lola like they're not my grandparents. He doesn't have a job and he complains a lot. Argh. He keeps saying he'll buy lotsa stuff and shit..oh puh-lease. And he's just an angry man. Blames the vaccines for the autism of Enzo, hates the US government soo much, has trust issues with everyone (including his own parents)--the reason why he'll never leave his kids with baby-sitters, collects junk, loves sales, and I think he's sort of a loser. I don't wanna be harsh since he's already family..so he's just "sort of a loser." I mean, I think he's a pastry chef or whatever and when he tried selling cookies, no one wanted to buy from him. He loves conspiracy theories--so he doesn't believe that man has ever landed on the moon. Took the Y2k Bug seriously, which explains why they have loads of stuff in their pantry..they were all there since year 2000. OH CRIMINY! But I have to hand it to him. Taking care of the kids 24/7 will really drive you crazy. And with Enzo's situation, my dad says it's better for him to be a house husband full time and take care of the kids..

Tito Fabian's family was amazing. I met his parents, went to their house. It was the cutest thing. Very Italian. They served us with the most delicious house cooked meal I've ever tasted and even gave me 2 shots of some kind of chocolate flavored something and lemon flavored something. Hehe. Then Serrana, his sister is the super nanny. I loved her. And her daughter Soledad, is a very sweet girl. Too bad, we weren't able to make it to her birthday party.

I also met our cousins, Angela and Jeff. They were cool. They toured us around the city. Took us to a Spanish restaurant where we had Tapas...yummy! We rode the subway..really cool. That gave us the chance to really experience how it is there...and while walking, it started to snow...awww!!! Then checked out Urband outfitters and guess what?! While crossing the street we saw Sandra Bullock! Haha! We went to the Museum of Science and Industry to see Body Worlds. Very cool. Real people whose body was opened up.. It was gross but really cool. Then took the cab home.

Lolo Manny took us to Sears Tower, the talles building in Chicago. From up there, it was just really amazing. Then he also took us to the Skyline for the pictures. I love our pictures. Hehe.

For our stay in Chicago, it was basically baby sitting, helping out Tita Babs in the house with the cooking, washing the dishes, being toured by our relatives and shopping. Ooohh shopping. Well..I don't have a lotta money so I wasn't able to buy lotsa stuff yet, and I'm saving for NY. But I must say, I love the sales people here. They're all polite..unlike in Manila. And they really make sure you're doing okay.. The hard part was when we're in the house. I don't usually cook or wash the dishes but there, we had to. But it was a good feeling knowing I was helping out. Oh and we did our own laundry! Hooray for us. Well, we used the washing machine and dryer of course. Hehe.

But..we had to leave. Tita Babet was crying when we left..and I was really trying to hold back my tears! For a few minutes, I really felt how she feels. Sure she has a family there, but she's still alone in a way...I feel really bad for her..but that's just the way it is..

For our Greyhound experience, maybe when I get home. It's 1:27am already and we still have to pack. Next stop: Boston, NY and I dunno where else. Exciting!

OOohhh and Fuck...all my effort working out gone... I gained 7 pounds. 7 frikking pounds!!!!!

Btw, Hi Charlotte! May bago akong reader. Nice! =) Haha..