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LGBT Parenting
tdmklm
member
TTW
tdmklm
member
TTW: Twenty Things Wednesday, the necessary number of bullets to describe the complete and utter crappiness of our vacation. I need to get it out of my system, so I decided to write it all down.
1. Because of weather conditions in Boston, we missed our connection in NYC and the airline had to change our tickets. We ended up leaving three hours later than planned and flying to a different city in Brazil so we could connect to our final destination from there.
2. When we retrieved J's stroller at the airport in Brazil, the wheel was nearly broken off.
3. When we tried to check in for our last flight in Brazil, we were told the airline messed up the change and J had no ticket. They then made us walk all over the airport, from one counter to another, with two huge suitcases, one medium suitcase, one carry-on bag, one diaper bag, two purses, a toddler, and a broken, unusable stroller. They finally figured out what to do, and we were off to our final destination in the south.
4. On day 2 of our trip, J bit into a hard plastic spoon and swallowed a fairly large piece. We called his pediatrician here, who said because it was hard plastic we had to take him to the doctor there to make sure it was passing through his system with no problem (i.e., without lacerating his stomach or bowels). We took him to the ER and were told to come back if there was blood in his stools. They literally wouldn't do anything. Thanks, Brazilian doctors. Thanks. (Everything went through fine, and on day three we found multiple little pieces of plastic in his diaper. Yes, I dug through baby poo. Proudly.)
5. Everything went fairly well from day 3 to day 8, when my parents decided to show their insanity. Here's how it went down: we were in a store that sells cuckoo clocks, and I asked about a cuckoo clock they were supposed to be keeping for me (willed to me by my grandfather - no cash value but loads of sentimental value). My father's reply was: "It was broken and your aunt knew someone who could fix it, so we gave it to her." I then said, "I'm sad that you did that." Cue the cray-cray. He yelled and called me unimaginable things in public (moron, fvcker, bastard, etc - loosely translated, of course) , scaring J, who started to cry. He said I never cared about my grandparents (absurd - they raised me) and how dare I question him when he had turned himself inside out for the past eight days for the three of us. He then stormed off to the car.
6. My mother, never to be outdone in the cray cray department, then accused me of hurting my father's feelings and said I was evil.
7. They drove off and left us. Oh, I forgot to mention we were in a town two and a half hours away from where they live.
8. The next bus was at 6 p.m. the next day. It was a local and took almost 6 hours to get there.
9. The hotel reservation I made online (at booking.com - DO NOT use them) at a place in their town was not sent to the hotel for five hours. When we got there, at nearly midnight, we were told they had no room for us.
10. The manager was VERY nice and called around to see whether she could get us a place to stay. We ended up going across the street to the crappiest, smelliest, most disgusting place for two nights. There was blood on the walls. Or something that looked like blood. And the room smelled like something (someONE?) had been decomposing there for a while. REALLY.
11. We had to change the whole trip around since we couldn't stay with them anymore, and it made no sense to stay in their terribly expensive town. This was VERY expensive.
12. Part of the problem with changing the trip around was that the same mistake they made with J's ticket was valid for the rest of the itinerary. Whenever we got somewhere, they'd say, "The baby's ticket is not attached to your reservation," as if a fifteen-month-old could travel on his own. I mean, seriously, people. Learn your jobs.
13. Trying to figure out the problem took two and a half hours at the airline's store. When we got to the airport... it wasn't solved. They actually tried to make me pay extra again. I absolutely refused and threatened to make a scene because of everything they put us through. At that point, they solved the problem - at no charge.
14. Once we got to the city where I grew up, we all got sick. So sick we didn't feel comfortable getting on a plane with J, thinking he may have an ear infection. We took him to the ENT who used to be my doctor (and he recognized me after 8 years!) and paid through the nose - no pun intended - since they obviously didn't take our U.S. insurance. Hopefully we'll get reimbursed.
15. When we got back home, the stroller (which we had fixed so we could get around in Brazil) was broken again. We've flown more airlines than I can count, and none except American has broken our stroller. And they've done it twice. Nicely done.
Wow, I didn't even have 20! I guess the trip wasn't so bad... 
This discussion has been closed.
Re: TTW
Wow. That is totally and completely batsh*t insane. You truly win some completely uncoveted vacation from hell award. I recommend never traveling again. Welcome home, and I hope you guys have tons of Leap's suggestions lined up for your next few weeks.
Was the purpose of this trip related to your immigration status? Did you at least get done whatever you needed to get done while you were down there??
IVF Oct/Nov 2012
Beta #1 = 77, Beta #2 = 190, Beta #3 = 1044
Cautiously optimistic.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Jean, you crack me up!
Right??? It was crazy!
It didn't have anything to do with immigration this time... It was purely for fun. HA! I hadn't been back there since I came to the U.S. almost 6.5 years ago, and my parents insisted because my father wanted to meet the baby. I thought it would be, let's say, a bit more pleasant than it was.
No news on the immigration front - still waiting for the DOL to do whatever it is they need to do to make sure the process was done according to the rules (which it was). *sigh* I need permanence. Seriously.
Thank you, Leap. We'll definitely start with champagne. It's in the fridge already for this evening after J goes to bed.
Next time I get pregnant, will you be my wife, please?
Thanks, Jean. I was dreading it because of history with my parents. I had hoped things would be different because, well, they're supposedly more mature, right? But nah. There's a reason a board of psychiatrists found them insane and incapable of working. It's because they are.
HAHAHAHAHA!
I knew I could count on this board for laughs!
Let me check on that and get back to you
wow..i'm just beat reading that .. soso so sorry it did not go well ... UGG
but really - do what leap says those things sound nice ! WELCOME HOME though!
- J
our Blog -http://dosbabies.wordpress.com/
sahm ~ toddler breastfeeder ~ cloth diaperer ~ baby wearer
T, that is crazy!!!! Glad it is at least over now. Hopefully you won't be paying the bills for too long as a reminder! Maybe for your next trip, something a little closer to home that involves no relatives? lol Lots of great getaway locations here in New England!!
(Looking forward to seeing you and meeting the rest of your fam at the gtg!)
sahm ~ toddler breastfeeder ~ cloth diaperer ~ baby wearer
big ditto
Blogs: Our Growing Family - CT Working Moms
