A Pandemic Trip to the U.S.

I know we all have ants in our pants and want to travel, but I just got back from the U.S. two days ago and, well, I have some mixed feelings about the endeavor. 

General Pros: 

1. I saw my family after something like two years (I would have to check my tax forms to say for sure, that is how long it has been).

2. I got to smell Pine Lake (not quite Proust's Madeleine, but a whiff of a Wisconsin lake does bring me back).

3. I ate all the food I missed*. 

General Cons: 

1. I gained 5.5 kilos in two weeks and felt physically horrible most days because I ate and drank everything I knew would make me feel like crap and I did it anyway. Hopefully this situation will correct itself quickly. 

In case you are interested, this is a partial list of the food I consumed while I was in America. When I say I earned those 5.5 kilos, I mean it! Never mind the fact that before and after my trip I was following a vegan diet. In America, my brain  goes into another mode that I cannot control. I never eat meat, but somehow cheese (especially nacho cheese), eggs (over medium), sour cream, and fish (especially canned tuna) make their way into my face. I hope this is something I can change in the future. It is not something I am proud of. Let's just say one reason I live in Europe is to save myself from myself!

Corn on the cob, Nachos with everything (cheese, onions, beans, salsa, guacamole, sour cream), Bagels and cream cheese (one bag each of: Everything bagels, Onion bagels, Plain bagels), Oreos (normal, double stuf-- my niece, Bridget, reminds me that these are vegan), Doritos (Nacho Cheese, Cool Ranch), Tortilla chips (regular, black corn), Combos (Regular, Pretzel), Lee's Deli (tuna with Onions, lettuce, tomato), Racine Pizza (Infusino's, Derango's), Panera soups (Tomato, Cheddar broccoli) and sandwiches (tuna with onions, lettuce, tomato), Culver's (fried cheese curds, onion rings, fries), peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's, every I.P.A. beer made in Wisconsin (and Michigan and Indiana with special accolades to my old friends and neighbors at Lakefront Brewery in Riverwest in Milwaukee, and Zombie Double I.P.A. that Ed's friends turned me on to), breakfast at Derango's on West Boulevard/Washington Avenue repeatedly, Meli's once (I would call these meals "Brunches" except I also ate lunch every single time), grilled haloumi, and taco dip (Pick n' Save and Home Made).  

2. I had forgotten that Wisconsin people are passive agressive and never say what they think or want. It takes a couple days to get used to. The main trick is knowing that when they (we) say: "YOU must be/think/feel/want/need _________," they (we) actually mean: "I am/think/feel/want/need __________," and when they (we) stop talking to you for an extended period of time, don't worry. There is nothing you can do except ride it out. In Wisconsin, we believe that if something bothers us or offends us, it is our fault for being too sensitive or thin-skinned. We take our time to get over it. When we talk to you again it means we are all cool like nothing happened. 

              

3. Everything was expensive. Wow, even in Racine, Wisconsin. 

Travel Considerations:

Booking my flight to the States was cheap but...

1. My trip got cancelled twice and changed once. The final trip went from Venice to Frankfurt to Montreal to Chicago, each with its own rules (see below). 

2. Baggage was not included and cost an additional 70 dollars per checked bag per direction. 

3. My outgoing trip went through Canada when the U.S./Canada border was closed which complicated things A LOT. 

Covid Rules were different wherever we went: 

1. On the way out, Germany was cool with a vaccine, but I had to get a Covid test anyway because the U.S. did not recognize vaccines. Kids not vaccinated were required to have a Covid test for Germany, Canada and the U.S. 

 

2. Coming back, Germany no longer required a Covid test for children below age 12 (the rule changed the day of our return) but Italy did. Germany started requiring  a Covid test for vaccinated people (again, the rule changed the day of our return) but Italy did not. You are expected to keep up with these changes by checking every few days. 

3. Both the U.S. and Italy required lengthy digital forms with tons of details about Covid tests, flights, intentions, etc. that could not be filled out on the fly and were difficult to fill out using a cell phone. Worse, they did not save your information during the process so if you were missing anything and the website timed out you had to do the entire form over again.  

 

4. In the States it was almost impossible to get a Covid test without being a resident. They wanted insurance information or the government would pay for it if if you were considered an "uninsured resident." They did not allow you to pay for the test, which just felt wrong somehow. At any rate they couldn't guarantee they could get me the results in time (for a molecular test they said "24-48 hours" but the results are only valid for 72 hours). 

The easiest way we found was to make an appointment for a rapid test at the airport (validity 24 hours minimum, 48 hours max depending on the destination country)  and get there 30 minutes before you were supposed to check in (which was extended from two to three hours because of Covid documentation). That way you pay online at the time of reservation, take the test and get results via email within 15-20 minutes, go to your gate and you are good to go. 

When I arrived in the States on July 14, few people wore masks in stores and restaurants. There were signs everywhere saying masks were "optional for vaccinated customers" but the non-vaxxed were not masking up as far as I could tell (something about personal freedom?). By the time I left, people were "encouraged" to mask up again (and those who believed Covid existed did it) because of the Delta variant, which was hitting even fully vaccinated young and healthy people and putting many of them in the hospital. According to a nurse friend (my mom's next door neighbor), there were 12 people in the hospital in Racine the day before I left, and they were all vaccinated. She mentioned that she and her colleagues were scared. The week before there were zero cases in the hospital. 

The news continues to say "Breakout cases" are rare- This may be the case. My feeling that they are more common than we are being told may be a result of the Availability Bias, but I still don't know. It makes me a little scared, too, I admit.  

All in all, I am happy I went to the States, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else right now (too much hassle, high risk) unless they have a good reason that does not include tourism. The preparation to get your documents in order before you leave takes a lot of time and effort even if passport control and customs are much easier in transit. 

Planes are full because there are less flights, you have to wear masks at all times (and different countries require different types of masks!), airports do not keep people distanced. Once you get to your destination, you may find that your favorite places and people are not available because of Covid restrictions. It's just not a happy time to travel. 

Other than that, I hope you are having a good summer! 

When Writing is All We Have

I have been spending a lot of time in my journal over the last few months. The writing is mostly scattered and mindless, but sometimes what we need is a little "sfogo," as they would say here in Trieste. Today seems like as good a day as any other to give you an update of our Covid Status.

1. Cases are higher than ever, variants are more serious, businesses are opening.  

2. People are either for the vaccine (we want to travel) or against it (we are the government's guinea pigs). It's hard to get whether you like it or not (unless you have age on your side or you work in health care or you are a teacher). 

3. We can leave our municipalities (I think) without a permission slip, but not the region. At some point it was okay to travel to Spain, however. 

4. You don't have to wear a mask when you run on the bike path.

5. If you need to get your bike fixed, good luck. Everyone in Trieste has a bike now (that needs fixing). During the lockdown you could leave your municipality if you walked or rode a bike. People really wanted to leave their municipalities. 

We are on day 4 of a downgrade. We are now Yellow instead of Orange. The only problem is that every time they change our color (and therefore what we can and can't do), they also change the definition of what that color means. When I say They, I can assure you that I have no idea anymore who They are. 

Is it the head of the region? The Prime Minister? 

The whole thing is a little confusing.