During the week that I stayed with my sister, I still suffered from jetlag. I woke up at 3 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep until 12 noon. In between these episodes, I and Airel watched BTS videos. I presume she had them all; whatever was available at the moment.
I wasn’t able to find the video of her room in the last chapter, but I finally found it hidden in my files. Here’s how her room looked like.
During breakfast, we listened to BTS songs as played by Alexa. Sometimes, we went out for dinner and I enjoyed the huuuuge servings in Mexican, Chinese, and American restaurants.
We had also tried our videoke skills. My sister and I aren’t singers. But she and her husband managed to sing in tune to Celine Dion’s song. You can watch the video below.
After a week, I finally settled down in my Aunt Fe’s house. I’ve never seen such a tranquil and peaceful subdivision. In fact, it was so ‘silent’ that at first glance, it seemed like a ghost town. However, the clear, blue skies, the cool, fresh breeze, and the perfectly manicured lawns were evidences that it was actually a wonderful haven.
My aunt had a wide backyard full of beautiful flowers, and it was a great sight to behold from the backyard swing during sunsets.
I finally ate my favorite Fil-American breakfast, bacon with egg and rice. Yummy!
My aunt is a warm, generous and friendly person, so it was a joy being with her. We took turns remembering our childhood days in the province, when life was tough and difficult. We took walks in the morning around the neighborhood, enjoying the crisp, fresh morning air, and the azure, cloudless sky. The landscape was so spectacular that I could become a Van Gogh, if I stayed there forever.
Sometimes, in the afternoons, we went gallivanting to her friend’s house or window-shopped at the mall. We also visited the backyard garden, now and then to water the growing plants.
I got my taste of American hospitality as everyone smiled back at me – and I mean every single person. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? But they were not, as I experienced the same thing when we went out for groceries.
Strangers smiled at us, and opened doors for us. Some waved and said “hi”. The salesladies were genuinely helpful and concerned about their customers. “Are we doing fine, ladies?” “How may we help you?”
At one time, I wanted to prove if my theory was correct.
“Auntie, watch me say hi to that stranger in front of us, and he’ll answer back,” I proclaimed boldly, so sure of myself.
As the old-grumpy looking man came close enough, I smiled broadly and greeted him, “Hi, how are we doing today?” worried he won’t reply.
His reaction was instant, he grinned back with a gummy smile and blurted happily, “I’m doing fine, and what about you, dearies?”
I shot a glance at my aunt and we laughed, controlling our mirth. “We’re good, have a nice day!” We replied gaily.
My aunt informed me that people in Cheyenne are still unaffected by the hurly-burly of city life. Although, Cheyenne was a city, life was still at a slower pace. There were no traffic jams, except during Frontier Days and similar events, and in my aunt’s subdivision, everyone knows everyone.
The salesladies never failed to greet us warmly. All these greetings were uttered with a sincere smile that made me take back what I said earlier that America was ‘cold’. I know I was dumb to be generalizing. Just like back in my country, there are good and bad places, and there are warm and cold people as well.
The ambiance and behavior of the people in the neighborhood of Cheyenne were completely different from that of LA. They were warm, amiable, helpful and willing to spend time with a stranger.
It impressed me so much that I wrote a letter to the editor of the Tribune, the leading newspaper in the area, and to my surprise, it got published. You may want to read my letter below.
Since, my younger aunt, Minda, had to wait for her leave of absence to be approved, my aunt Fe and I made trips to the malls often to eat and explore.
In one of our shopping trips to Wal-Mart, “Idol” came on the store’s speakers. You can just imagine how pleasantly surprised I was, as I had never expected to encounter our legendary boys in one of the biggest store chains in America. Watch the video below.
It’s not too audible, as I forgot to increase the volume of my cellphone due to my excitement. Sorry for that.
I also went around the store looking for BTS merchandise, but I found none. I was downhearted about that, so I asked the store manager.
“Oh, we have a book about BTS,” he said.
“Why don’t you display more BTS products?” I suggested boldly. “I’m sure there are many people like me who would want to buy.”
“We had but they’re sold out. We plan to order more,” he answered.
I wanted to inform him that there’s gold in BTS’ products, and that they should stock more because the boys would get bigger and bigger in the future. But I held my tongue, as a staff was consulting him about something.
I hesitated in buying the BTS book, as I was scrimping, but my aunt, volunteered to buy it for me, and insisted that I should buy it, as it was the only copy left in the store. God bless her.
So, I got the book and it’s full of awesome pictures of the boys and some short posts about them. Well, aside from the key chain, I have now one more BTS product in my possession. My ARMY grandkid has outdone me in this aspect.
Yes, I still don’t own any BTS CDs or DVDs. I have all of YouTube, and Spotify to listen to their music, so I’m well fed in spite of my predicament. But I do plan to buy some in their next comeback.
My aunt Minda informed me that the following week we would be on our road trip, and I was so excited for that.
To be continued… You can read Part 7 or the Conclusion of Traveling and Finding BTS in Most Unlikely Places.
If you haven’t read the earlier chapters, here they are:
Part 1: Traveling and Finding BTS in Most Unlikely Places
Part 2: Traveling and Finding BTS in Most Unlikely Places
Part 3: Traveling and Finding BTS in Most Unlikely Places
Part 4: Traveling and Finding BTS in Most Unlikely Places
Part 5: Traveling and Finding BTS in Most Unlikely Places
Meanwhile, on to another topic about boys: How to Teach Your Teenage Boys to be Sensitive
