Extranjero

When I was 6 my mom sent an application for me to start first grade in a catholic school where tuition fees were affordable. After some negotiations and examinations I got accepted. This meant that for me to study there my mom had to cut back but there was always a warm plate of food at the table. Since young age I learned that I have been given an opportunity to study, which many people do not have in Guatemala, and that I should make the best out of it. So, I dedicated my life to school and to learning and to get good grades. Yes, I’m a nerd!

During my teens, I was doing everything I can to learn English on my own from movies and songs and books. During university I took some english courses on Saturdays, but never really got a chance to practice. Also, the courses where really crowded and I only sat through seven out of twenty two levels. The state university in Guatemala has a higher demand that it can handle because of the affordable tuition fees. Only a selected group gets admitted yearly.

Back to our story.

As we boarded the plane in Mexico City headed to London, I was excited to get to practice my English skills. It also showed me how little I knew about the language. I took my seat and somehow started small talk with the person sitting next to me. An independent and kind looking young woman, with golden blond hair and piercing blue eyes.

At some point during the flight she asked where I am from. I said I am from Guatemala and she made good comments about the country. I was amused. She spoke fluent Spanish and I was secretly relieved I did not had to use my English yet. She told her story in short and as it turned out she was coming from Peru. She mentioned how she found a peruvian boyfriend and how sad she was to return back home.

Where are you from? - I asked.
From Finland - she replied… I was stunned!

As we arrived to London I asked her if she could help me and my friends to find the boarding gate for the next flight. We exited the plane and I introduced her to the rest of the band. She was really polite and helped us get to the Gate, obviously none of us understood english that well and if anybody would have been doing the talking it would have been me… to this day I don’t know what would have happened if I didn’t find her and if she didn’t help us.

We arrived to Helsinki a few hours later - around 23.00 - and there was our contact wating for us - fictional name Kash. He was exceptionally kind and warm to welcome us.
He said - I hope you are prepared because it is -13 degrees out there.

February is the warmest month in Guatemala city with average temperatures of 28-30 degrees. You can imagine the shock as we exited the airport. He drove us to his apartment in Espoo, close to Kilo and had prepared a nice dinner for us. We greeted his wife and two daughters and sat at the table. It was a great dinner, I will never forget it.

It was very nice to have a Guatemalan guy taking us in like that and his wife, although finnish, spoke fluent spanish. We had dinner and nice conversation. He mentioned that there were two couches we can share. Two of us stayed on the carpet and two in couches. We played rock, scissors, paper every night to see who stayed on the couches.

After dinner, the four of us went outside to walk on the snow, to see it, feel it, touch it, eat it... We went for a short walk and then turned in for the night.

We stayed at their place for two weeks before they moved to Spain. They eventually came back a few months earlier. Me and Kash still keep in touch but have recently grown apart, unfortunately. The rest, as some might say “is history”!

Thanks for reading! “Stay hungry, stay foolish”.

Namaste!

Today, I read the first part of this story and was reflecting on it. After sharing the story with some people I have wondered, do I come across as arrogant or pretentious or does it sound like a made-up story? Specifically I was wondering about the last paragraph where I stated my current situation.

The point I was trying to make is that when you are not happy with your situation in life there is always a way to turn it around. I was trying to make a point that I have accomplished something that, if you would have asked me in 2004, I wouldn’t have ever imagined. It wasn't really a goal of mine to live in Helsinki, less in Eira, but here I am.

I was simply following my gut and pursuing a dream and took the more feasible opportunity presented to me at that point in my life. It hasn’t been easy and at times I have been wondering if it is all worth it, why am I still in Finland. One thing I know for sure is that I am still on my path to follow my dreams and ambitions and give it the best I can. I am still following my gut and I feel like I owe Finland because it has given me so much… my time here is not over yet.

When we were leaving Guatemala and saying goodbye to our loved ones at the Airport I was so excited and could only focus on the journey I was about to start, I was young and really just a naive kid. I didn’t ponder on what I was leaving behind and how much it meant to me.

The previous night I was so excited and anxious that I could not get to sleep. After we said goodbye and started to advance into the departures area I remember being the last one of the four. As I was walking in, one of the security officers stopped me and grabbed me by the arm.

Passport and boarding ticket. Where are you travelling? - he asked.
To Finland - I replied.
He looked at me with a confused face and said - What is the purpose of your trip?

At the same time I noticed that the vocalist of the band (fictional name Otto) was also being pulled away by another officer. The other two members of the band, Gee and JM, were moving forward normally.

They took us both to the side and checked our documents, flight numbers and asked some routine questions. In short they were trying to find out what was the real purpose of our trip. I said I was going there for holiday and to visit a friend. I guess it was suspicious that young guy like me was able to afford travelling to Europe.

JM turned back and saw us. Him and Gee came back to see what was going on and then they were also taken into custody. They moved us over to some kind of police station and put us all in separate rooms, not really rooms but cubicles.

I was sitting there when a police officer approached me. I was really nervous because I was not sure what was going on and I was not sure if these guys were corrupt and trying to get money or really just doing their job. I was afraid he will ask for money and I would have got to give him the little money I had with me - or at least part of it.

Why are your eyes red? - he asked.
I am a little tired... haven’t been sleeping well. - I replied.
Are you sure you are not high? - he asked.
Yes. I am pretty sure I am not high. - I replied.
Are you carrying drugs in your stomach? - he asked more aggressively.
I am not carrying drugs. - I replied.
Tell me the real purpose of your trip - he demanded.
I am going there for holiday, check my ticket is a return ticket - I pointed out.

He walked away and took my papers with him. He discussed something with his peers and gave the order to take our bags out of the plane. While we were waiting for the luggage to be unloaded he came back to ask to talk to me again.

Look, just be honest. Tell me the truth now, are you carrying drugs in your stomach? - he asked again.
No - I replied.

After some more interrogation and questioning. He asked me when is the last time I ate and if I had the receipt of the last meal. I said I had breakfast a few hours before and did not payed for it myself so I had no receipt.

Come with me - he said. We were heading toward the bathroom and then he opened the door and asked me to drop my pants and sit on the toilet. You are not getting up until you defecate - he order.

I was pretty stressed at that point and also very nervous because I didn’t know what the other guys were doing and why they didn’t believe me. I remember sitting in the toilet trying to relax and let my body do it’s thing. It was probably 10-20 minutes that I was there but it definitely felt like hours. All the time one officer watching me. I managed to force it out after a while and then they finally believed me. They didn’t have any kind of modern machines to scan my stomach so I guess it was the only way.

As I went out the other guys were there and all our luggage was also there, they proceed to unpack all our stuff and put it on the floor until they found our instruments. I had disassembled my electric guitar and carefully packed it with my clothes. We also had a lot of stickers, the EP we had recently recorded and some guatemalan handicrafts such as bracelets, necklaces and others that we planned to sell on the streets.

Tell us the truth, why are you going to Finland - one of them asked.
After a moment of silence we kinda looked at each other.
We are going there to make music and, looking for other opportunities. We want to represent Guatemala through music - I replied

They immediately relaxed and since we had a return ticket they let us continue. At that point the plane had been delayed because of us so we proceeded to quickly re-pack. They quickly loaded the luggage again and we ran to board the plane….

Once I was in the plane I was relieved, excited and curious because I had never been inside a plane before, never left my country and only heard stories about flying and travelling. I wonder how it feels to take off - I thought.

We took off and landed on Mexico city a few hours later where we were put into an isolation room with guards all around because we did not have Mexican visa in our passports. We had to ask permission and be escorted to the bathroom or to walk around. We waited there for some hours until we boarded the next plane headed to London.

Once in London there were no outstanding check-ups. It is kinda funny how complicated it was in Guatemala and Mexico and how simple it was in Europe.

To be continued…