As I begin this post, I am reminded of the movie “Coming to America”. When George and I first “met” via FB chat just after Christie returned from her very first trip to Uganda , I felt that there was something very special about him. Not only because he made my big sister happy but just because…
I spent my lunch hour chatting with George almost every day. He was always there waiting for me. It didn’t matter if I went to lunch at 12:00 or 1:00 or 2:00, he always stayed awake to chat with me before retiring to bed (remember, Uganda is 8 hours ahead of the US). And if I didn’t get to take a lunch, boy was he blowin’ up my FB wall asking where his “lunch date” is.
I remember George telling me that he was going to run for President of Uganda. So I assumed he was some kind of big deal (Bahahaha!) I told him he was probably like Eddie Murphy on the moving “coming to America”. I told him he was some kind of royalty but didn’t want us to know. It’s still a running joke with us.
Prince Akeem = George
George had THE hardest time just being able to visit us. He has been trying since October and kept getting turned down by the Embassy. I understand the US’s stance on trying to prevent terrorism but geez! Let me just assure you, if being skeptical and rude is in their job description, they did their job well. George finally scored his Visa the last week of June! Cha-ching! I was soooooo excited that I was FINALLY going to get to meet him in person!
Christie & George were scheduled to arrive on July 4, 2011! I had asked her to schedule their flights on a day that I was off so that I could spend some time with him, since I had to work during the week. Mom, Alex, Marlie & I went to the airport in Birmingham to pick them up. We stood at the bottom of the escalator and waited. We didn’t have time to get our nerves in check because we literally got there five minutes before I saw Christie’s long, bright skirt at the top of the escalator. In this picture, you will see George squatting down so that he could see us sooner. And I was doing the same :)
Christie & George arriving at the airport. Look at THAT smile!
There were no introductions needed! We already knew him. And we knew him well. He had been a part of our family all along! Normally Alex is shy around new people (well, at first) but he took right to George. Marlie, not so much!
As we started out of the airport headed to the parking deck, Christie asked George to rent one of those carts that you can wheel your luggage with. Poor George. He had only been in America a few hours and was already broke! The carts cost $4 to rent and he only had $2. LOL. He had to borrow a couple dollars from Alex…
As we drove home, I just let it all soak in. I loved hearing George’s accent and hearing him talk. We went back to my house where Derrick was preparing George’s first real American home-cooked meal: ribs, baked beans and jalapeno poppers. When we got home, we headed up the steps into the kitchen and George was greeted by our little dog Copper. Boy was he freaked out! He started backing down the stairs and squealing (if you’ve ever met George, you know how high his voice can get). It was hilarious! He never warmed up to her either!
Alex wanted to show George how good he was at playing darts and George was pretty good too!
We had a lovely meal, I bored George with my many scrapbooks, he played Bowling on the Wii with Chritie and Alex, and I made him take off that ugly Auburn hat that somebody had given him and I introduced him to the Alabama hat. We enjoyed our evening together and then it was time for them to go home (to my mom’s in Alexander City). What a great day that was!
