Catching up
Again I awoke at 3:45 am here in Cupertino, California (next to San Jose), still in jetlag mode. Anya and I celebrated Christmas with my in-laws—her dad’s side of the family, with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even a second cousin.
Here are a few of the significant highlights—and lowlights—from the past several days.
Departure from Sweden crisis
Friday morning, I arranged for a taxi to take us to the airport at 4:00 am. We don’t own a car, and with our big suitcases, it would be bad to try to get them on our bicycles to head to the bus station a whole hour earlier. We also don’t want to leave our bikes at the station for 2.5 weeks.
The taxi was ready, parked right outside our entrance, so because I helped carry Anya’s bag down two flights of stairs, I thought I would just help her carry it out to the taxi. However, the entrance door closed behind us. Typically that is not a problem, as it is unlocked most of the time—but not at 4:00 am. Typically, I would have my keys in my pocket, Anya too, but I only had the spare key connected to my bag. Yes, it was still in our apartment, and we were locked out with a flight to catch in 2.5 hours!
I have talked with one neighbor, Lars, but I don’t know his phone number. He used to study at JTH, so I called my colleague, Jim (fortunately, he usually gets up at 4:00 am), and Jim was able to find Lars’ phone number. I called Lars, but his phone was off. Ugh!
I searched the Internet with my phone (fortunately, Anya and I both had our phones) and found the student apartment number and was able to reach an emergency person. She said that she would send someone out, but it would take 30 minutes! Ack!
In the meantime, Anya was figuring things out. She knew the name of one of the women, Ida, who lived a floor below. While we don’t know our neighbors—this is Sweden—all the basic contact information of every resident in Sweden is on the internet: name, address, birthdate (yes, with the year). Fortunately, Ida’s phone number was on this registry. Anya called 3 times, which were all declined. So, Anya sent a text explaining that we were locked out, and could she open the entrance door? Ida was not in the apartment, but she woke up her flatmate, who came down to let us in. We were effusively thankful to this woman that we have never met before, and now we meet while she is in her pajamas. Then, I cancelled the apartment guy to come and unlock the door.
Anya saved the morning! Only 20 minutes late, we were off. The taxi driver was kind, even inviting us to sit inside while we were waiting, and he gave us a reasonable rate for the delay.
It took me half a day to calm down. Perhaps the movies during the flight from Amsterdam to San Francisco were a blessed distraction.
In the Bay Area
I was glad to have an opportunity to visit my aunt in San Jose for dinner on Saturday evening. Often, we go out to the Monterrey Bay while my aunt travels, so we miss each other. This time, my father-in-law sold the beach condo this past year and my aunt was leaving after Christmas, so we had this window of opportunity. She is a wonderful, retired elementary school principal who relentlessly cared for and advocated for her late husband for 10 years after a huge stroke. She inspired me along that long journey.
I am here for the Christmas celebrations with extended family from St. Louis and Boston.
Tonight, we fly to the Seattle area for time with friends there.
With blessings,
Beth