Day 1: Travel to SF

26 May, 2022 Flying to the US
Budapest - Frankfurt, Frankfurt - San Francisco

On the plane
And I am here finally sitting on the plane, heading to Frankfurt. I can hardly believe it. Yet, I am kinda waiting to fight myself through to the next plane and then into the US - because there must be something wrong, right? It cannot be that easy that now I am on the place and I'll just transit in Frankfurt and enter the US like good old times.
Well, it can.

The days leading up...

... to this moment were difficult, stressful and exhausting.
I needed to get a negative Antigen test to the US 1 calendar day before departure. However Lufthansa sent an email informing us that Germany accepts it 48 hours before the trip so I couldn't wait. I decided to test twice, the first one being on 24 May (so that at least I can start to think about packing), 2 days prior departure leaving me so unsettled that during our morning stand-up ceremony, I couldn't speak when my turn came but burst out crying instead sharing my innermost fear with my colleagues of getting a positive result and then losing the whole experience of going to San Francisco and participating in this race I have been longing for for so long.
So much on my mind to worry about
"What if the result is positive?"
"What if the result is negative but that's the wrong test and I only find it out at the airport?"
"What if I get injured during my stay before the race?"
"What if...."
My friends and family who endured my presence in those days, I'll be forever grateful for. It must not have been easy to have me around, let alone work with me. I was so distressed that it was hard to focus on anything, to put toothpaste on my toothbrush before brushing them. Good Lord. What days...

But all of this started in 2021.

Reflections - how did I get here?

I lived in Berkeley in through 2017 to 2018. I came back to visit since then, a little fitter everytime as workout has gradually become an everyday ingredient of my life, until in 2019 I started doing triathlons. On one of the occasions, I found out about this triathlon event and I thought that one day I might do it. That day came two years later when in 2021 I check the registration requirements. Which were non-existent to my surprise. You can enter random drawing but I don't do shit like that. I obviously won't get it - it's like lottery, literally! Nothing to lose. So why not? I entered.

To my greatest surprise I received the following email:
5 May, 2021

I was freaking excited! I immediately wrote to Csabi (my current triathlon coach) and Szandi (my previous triathlon coach and back then swim coach) to share the unbelievable news! I wanted to know their opinion on my potential participation leaving them no real option to say no, such an opportunity comes once in a lifetime! You can go and get released the same day from Alcatraz!
I registered the same day, if not same hour for lovely 800USD. 

Preparations
4 August, race day
I started sharing the news with friends in Hungary after I realized what I had just signed up for elevating the level of excitement even more. Csabi was so intrigued that he offered to come along. We booked the flights and were about to get the accomodation sorted, too, when the bad news broke. The Covid situation is getting even worse in the US, they barely opened up restaurant terraces to welcome guests again, they need to close back in.

Covid situation hitting strong again
There were travel restrictions in place already when I registered but I was hoping they would change as we were coming out of it. That was not the case.

Leaving us with two options
Option A: Application for a sport visa (B1) and going by myself. That way, Csabi could not come but at least, I would not lose my participation in the race.
Option B: Fly out from a non-shengen zone country. There was some strange restriction in place stating that it was allowed to fly in from non-shengen zone countries. You would have to spend two weeks there before departure and your transition can neither be in a shengen-zone place, e.g. I fly from Serbia to Frankfurt and I already failed their requirements. If that was not enough, my sister's bachelorette was 28 July, which I would have to miss due to the two-week rule.

Re-booking: let's face the financial loss
Considering that the race organizers made it clear in their FAQ that deferment was not allowed unless you 1. broke your leg and a doctor's note supports your statement or 2. the organizers were to cancel the event on their part, there was nothing left to do but to write them an email about the present situation and my withdrawal from the race therefore.
WhyILoveAmerica - part1: the ogranizers replied that under such circumstances, they would allow deferment to 2022. However, I could only modify my tickets till end of August and the new race dates were not yet released by the Escape team. So I emailed them after 20 August to get the specifics.
WhyILoveAmerica - part2: In their response, they told me that they would normally not share such information but that this case was exceptional and would therefore send me the new dates in case I promised to keep it private. Like I had so many friends who would have wanted to know the date.
Thank God, I opted for the flexible options when getting my tickets with Lufthansa!
Call center Lufthansa - I modified my tickets with them over the phone and I must say it was a pretty pleasant experience. It went fast and process was quite simple. That's how I got everything sorted out and re-booked for next year.

Relieved, I sat back and waited.

Until 2022 came around.