I’ve been back in Ohio for a while now. I realize I haven’t updated this blog since mid-January, so I should do that. I enjoyed Spain. It was embarrassing that on my first day in Madrid, I accidentally said “faleminderit” instead of “gracias,” especially after so many times when I accidentally used a Spanish word while trying to speak Albanian. The Prado Museum is excellent. If you are at all into art, be sure to visit it if you’re in Madrid.
I didn’t end up getting to Morocco as I’d planned to, so I haven’t been to Africa yet. (I did get to Asia when I took a ferry to the Asian side of Istanbul.)
I flew back to Budapest from Malaga. When it was time to leave Europe, I took Lufthansa from Budapest to Frankfurt, then connected there to a direct flight to Minneapolis. Since my sister and her wife live in Minneapolis, this meant I could visit them and not have to deal with any connecting domestic flights after crossing the Atlantic and dealing with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Despite the horror stories I’ve heard and read about CBP, as well as my personal experience entering the U.S. in previous years, I found the agent at the Minneapolis airport to be friendly and professional. Previously, I’d always entered the United States at airports in Florida, Texas and California. The agents there were frequently surly and sometimes hostile, though I never had to go off for secondary inspection or questioning.
I don’t blame anyone for avoiding travel to the USA right now, but please remember that the horror stories you are reading make news precisely because they are unusual. An encounter with a courteous, professional border agent like the one I dealt with at the Minneapolis airport doesn’t make news. An encounter with a grouchy, surly agent who asks hostile questions but lets you thorough without much difficulty doesn’t make news either. Most people won’t do any worse than that surly agent.
Fortunately, I was able to drive as soon as I landed. That’s because I renewed my Ohio driver’s license before I left for Peace Corps service. You’re not supposed to be able to do that if your license is more than six months from its expiration date, but I figured I’d show up at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles office and try to renew it early. I explained that I was going to be out of the country during that six-month period and I didn’t want to return with no valid driver’s license. Thankfully, the clerk let me renew it early.
After some time in Minneapolis, my sister and I drove to Ohio together. It was great to spend time with her.