windy city

It's close to 11am here - So I've finally arrived in Chicago! I love the crisp spring air despite it being a little colder than I had expected. I guess the warm tropical weather has distorted my memory of four season temperatures. I had packed clothes meant for the Malaysian weather since many have told me that it was going to be hot & humid. >.<

Speaking of clothes, I'm left with only the clothes I wore when I left home. My luggage couldn't be located :( I think it had something to do with the fact that my HKG-SFO flight got delayed and I only managed to check in at the San Fran airport minutes before the call to board. Was trying to not to rush through immigration and customs and only got into the plane with 5 minutes before the plane took off.

The only consolation is I got a ride to the training centre in a stretch limo. If not for the frustration at having lost my luggage, I would have felt like a superstar travelling in a white limousine with a driver in suit and cap. Too bad there weren't any bubblies waiting for me inside.

Since the windows were tinted, I took the pleasure of observing the cars around me as we whizzed past in the expressway. No one seemed to be surprised at the limo, the cars were a lot bigger and wider than the ones back home. In fact, everything here is either tall, wide or just bigger than anything I've seen.

Reminded me of the trip down to Sydney, when Tze drove me around the suburbs. I commented on how expansive everything was - the houses, gardens, roads. It's really quite refreshing having so much space around you.

I tried to take in the sights around me, while enjoying the ride being chauffeured, pushing the thoughts of work behind. Even though this was partially for work, I hope the vastly different environment would give me a different perspective, and perhaps a little break from what has happened.

Think the sight of large Americans around me would be a good distraction. Speaking of which, this is the first time I'm being surrounded by predominantly black and white people. It's like what you see on American TV!