I have been waiting for this trip since around April of last spring! I have been on pins and needles, I even applied for my first passport just for this trip.....well this past weekend it finally happened.
I was just as excited as I was scared. I have been out of the country once before, to the same place to be exact, but that time I was 11 and with my father. We were traveling to the city to see my family. That trip was very different then they one that lie ahead.
I left Friday afternoon and was nervous about my layover in Mexico City. I knew I was going to have to go through customs and I don't speak a bit of Spanish that would help me. When i arrived in Mexico City I ran to the bathroom, this meant I passed an area of no return. I thought I passed the baggage claim and tried to turn around. A woman of security looking type stopped me and continued to to tell me to turn around (I only know this because she shook her head no and pointed in the direction I just came from) while I continued to state that I was lost. haha I finally gave up and turned around. Just as I walked down the stairs my eyes began to well up. The fear had gotten to me and I couldn't do anything about it.
I walked to the line marked 'Foreigners' and a young gentleman in a vest saw my pathetic looked and asked if I needed help, he spoke English, I handed hm my paperwork and waited for his direction. I had missed two lines and needed to fill them out. After that was done, the rest was a breeze. I freaked out for no reason.
Once I arrive in Guadalajara all was perfect. I meet with the staff of Con Comics and a few fellow cosplayers. We all begin to chat about life, our location, our careers, and astrology. Once I get my schedule for the next day and my rom I bathe and pass out.
Arriving Saturday dressed in my favorite ninja turtles costume, I am in sensory overload.
There were people in costume, people in there normal (yet extremely awesome) street clothes, music, dancing, food, candy, everything anyone of any age would LOVE!. I didn't know what to expect and was already so pleased and I was merely three steps in the door. As we walked to a booth just for the Suicide Girls I saw the sign! My favorite ladies were here with me! @radeo @ramonne @euphemia and @ilanna! I could have burst I was so excited!
Once I set up my table with all of the sexy pants and magazines I brought with me, I was escorted to the press Q&A that was awaiting me.
I thought the questions were going to be a lot more scary than they were. I thought I was going to be stumped and not know how to respond because I was so nervous....but it was a breeze! Once the Q&A was over we headed back to the table for the fan photos!
This was my favourite part of all! Every one I met was so unbelievably sweet!!!! I loved everyones costumes, personality, creativity, and enthusiasm! I've not met some many wonderful people all at one time in all of my life!
My favourite fans were the ladies! I love all of you guys out there, but having lady fans is an absolute honour. Especially when they are younger girls. You feel as if you are helping to them to find themselves and progress into wonderful, strong, creative, free, independent women. There is really no greater feeling in the world.
As people walked up to take their photos, we both tried to accommodate the other. Everyone learned very quickly that I am not a Spanish speaking person (sadly); they tried to speak English and I tried to figure out the Spanish. It was the cutest thing I have ever been a part of. The more people I met...the more I remembered my first time meeting someone I idolized.....Barbie and Skipper!
When I was around 8 years old, I got to go to Disney World for the very first time. While I was there Barbie and Skipper had arrived for the day and decided to take fan photos with anyone that wanted them! I had a little pink dress on and waited patiently yet on pins and needles for my turn. Once I made it to the front...I froze. I really thought THE Barbie and Skipper were in front of me. My mum had to direct me to my spot and turn me around. Once the photo was over I could finally breathe and turned to give them both a big hug.
I knew everyone at the convention was feeling the same way! I was honoured!
About mid-way through the day I had another Q&A, but this time with the fans on the man stage! Con Comics had put together a video to introduce me....I have never had that before and was nearly brought to tears. It was so amazing to see. I didn't realize how much they cared about having there and making me feel welcome. They did an outstanding job of making me feel as if I was surrounded by family the entire time.
They even found me a salad both days to deal with my Vegan lifestyle! How amazing were they!!!!!
By the end of the day I was so exhausted but I couldn't miss @euphemia @ramone and @ilanna,s burlesque show!
They were BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!! I was in absolute awe at the entire performance! They were lovely, sexy, seductive, and just around wonderful! I was even taking some serious pointers from them and their sexy dance moves! When the performance was over I wish I had roses so I could throw them to the stage in honour of the girls and their courage and stage performance. Sadly I didn't have one.
After the day was over I quickly made it over to the Kigurumi booth!!! I have been wanting to get some of the fun onesies and I was not going to miss my chance!!!!
I just love it!!! I get to be a Panda!!!!!! <3
We quickly returned to the hotel and I got ready for our Con Comics dinner. I could have just burst it was such a wonderful scene. There was about 30ish of us. All seated at a large table, chatting, eating, drinking, and just all smiling. As dinner went on I tried new things, new versions of old things, and laughed and smiled as I enjoyed it all and our conversations. We ended up closing the place down. The night just washing over me like a refreshing bath. I felt new and invigorated.
@radeo and I had discussed a yoga session in the am before the convention, so after a short hangout with her, @euphemia and I....we all headed off for our beauty rest.
@radeo and I actually did as we planned and did our morning yoga! I was so proud of us! After yoga we headed to breakfast and continued our healthy start with fruit, fresh fruit juice, and tea. We each returned to our rooms and began getting ready for our day. We were told we had to be in the hotel lobby at 12...so I was just getting out of the shower at 11:15...a bit late but I was dressing as Daria, so she doesn't take much getting ready. Well...I apparently had another Q&A at 12. I was supposed to be in the lobby by 11:35! I didn't know what I was going to do! There was no way I was going to make it to the lobby in time! I hadn't even begun to get ready haha!
Completely impressed with myself I made it to the lobby by 11:40!
The last day of the convention I kicked it off with another on stage fan Q&A! It is overwhelming, but in the best of ways to walk on the stage as the crowd screams. I also noticed how little everyone asked about the guys. In the beginning of this 'career' the questions I was mostly asked had to do with they guys and never myself. But that is not the case anymore. I may get a few here and there...but people are now interested in me myself. It's wonderful to see my efforts are not lost. I have been working at this career for over 10 years and sometimes you begin to feel helpless and lost. You feel as if you aren't getting anywhere...I was proved wrong.
I returned to my station with my fellow SG's after my stage time. The line was already a mile long. I couldn't believe that all of those people wanted to meet me! It was an entirely new experience. I was nearly in tears the entire day with all of the gifts people brought me! I was given everything from shirts to candy! I had a smile glued to my face for so long my face began to do strange unexplained things! haha I kept having to look the other way and stretch it out because there was no way I was going to get that smile off of my face anytime soon!!!!
I was so sad as Sunday came to an end! It seemed to go by so quickly...far more quickly than Saturday. I could't believe it and didn't want to accept it! But I at least had another Performance by my girls to see!
One of the other models from the convention had been given a rose, I had expressed to her that I wish I'd had a rose to trow to the girls...she gave me hers and I was able to give the girls a gift of honour at the end of their performance. I wanted them to feel as if they just walked of that grand stage! They are that talented and spectacular! They deserved to feel like Queens.
After the show was over I rushed to a few booths and picked out some more cosplay outfits!!!!!
(I can not wait to show you the new outfits! I even bought a wig!!!)
We all returned to the hotel and awaited everyone to get their flight schedule so we could go for tacos! I was so excited to finally get these tacos I had been hearing about from everyone!
All of a sudden it dawned on me we did not have a group photo! So I remedied that situation immediately!
(these are all of the wonderful people I got to spend my weekend in Mexico with!)
Then we all migrated to tacos! By this time 3 hours had passed since we left the convention....but it felt like days had passed since we all had eaten. Moments after getting to tacos I realized there was nothing I could eat. It was awful. I was so hungry and didn't want anyone to feel like I was ditching since I was going to leave right away.
I began to say my goodbye and I got to Luigi's wife (he was the gentleman, that I learned I had more things in common with than I could count, that helped my the entire weekend. He was by my side every time I needed something and never seemed to be bothered by a thing.), I started to thank her for allowing me to dominate her husbands time while I was there....and I lost it.
I began to cry!
Tears so bad I know I had my ugly cry face on and I could barely breathe. Radio frantically asked what happened and I finally forced out.... I'm sad. It was in that goodbye I realized I wouldn't be seeing anyone again until next December Con Comics. I wasn't ready for it to be over. I wasn't ready to not see the fans....to not see the costumes....and the food...and the fun. I loved it all too much!!!
Once Radeo realized no one had hurt me, she laughed and said "Come on cry baby, lets go". She had politely excused herself from dinner with everyone else and joined me at the hotel so I wouldn't have to eat alone. It was all I could have wished for. The entire trip. I was at home the entire time. Figuratively and literally.
When the last few returned from tacos we headed to my room for the last chats before we had to part ways.
@euphemia @radeo and I discussing future trips to Mexico and a US road trip! @ilanna @ramone @euphemia and I discussing a burlesque performance for nest year..and Con Comics and I impatiently awaiting the new convention in San Antonio!!!!
@euphemia stayed the night in my hotel because we just could't bare to part ways. We stayed up chatting like sleepovers from years past and awoke for breakfast early the next day.
After I was all packed and ready we headed to the Starbucks down the street. This was the first time I really got to see a bit of the city. The hotel was directly across the street from the convention and I arrived to Mexico late Friday night, so not much was to be seen then. After holding on to the few minutes we had left...we finally said our goodbyes and sook some much needed selfies!
Thankfully this time I held it together.
I even wore my Mascara De Latex Bat Girl shirt home!!!!
As soon as my driver arrived I was off to the airport, getting in my last few conversations before home!
When I arrived to the Guadalajara airport, the gentleman at the counter explained there were delays happening in Mexico City (where I had my connecting flight) and he didn't want me to miss my flight. He was putting me on an earlier flight, so I was heading directly to my gate and getting on board within minutes of my arrival! I thought I was going to possibly get home sooner than I was supposed to. I was due for an 11ish pm arrival in good old Las Vegas.
I landed in Mexico City around 5pm and traveled directly to my new gate. I was not going to have any issues. I like to always be prepared when I travel (so I made sure to ask before heading to the airport what I needed and what was expected of me)......well......there was one thing everyone forgot to tell me.
When you arrive in a new country you fill out an immigration form. When you go through immigration they tear off the top half of the paper and stamp the bottom portion they return to you. Apparently you are required to give this paperwork to the flight attendant when you leave the country to return home. They like to tell you this when you're attempting to get on your flight...no moment before.
The lady turned away at the gate and told me to run to immigration. Before I realized I was only half way there...they were calling my final call to get on the flight. My heart was racing and my fear was setting in. There was a gentleman that was sent away a few moments before me and I had a feeling it was for the same reason. I frantically ran around looking for him as I looked for the room I needed for my paperwork. I finally found him and we still were not where we needed to be yet. Each time we stopped we were told it was just a little further. By the time we made it to immigration our plane had left. This is when I knew the exact paper they were talking about.....and it was in my check on luggage.
For the next 5 hours we were sent back and forth from one counter to another. No one speaking a word of English and no one having answers. I had to have a friend help me get a ticket back home (in which they of course charged an extra fee for me missing my flight) and all 5+ times he called they hung up on him. Charging his card multiple times yet I never had a ticket when I got to the counter. I was growing more and more upset as time went by. I could not control my tears any longer and I didn't know what to do.
When @euphemia and I had breakfast I had expressed how sad I was that I didn't get any photos from the convention. She gave me the wonderful advice of asking everyone to email me the photos they had taken!
It was perfect! I decided to use this as a distraction.....the post....not the emails. I didn't expect people to stat sending them so quickly! As the images flooded in, I smiled for the first time in hours! Once again I was as happy as the weekend had made me. AND @euphemia contacted her best friend and explained my situation. @wistful drove an hour to the airport with her husband and two little girls (one of which was sick :( ) just to pick up a stranger she knew nothing about. During all of the commotion someone thankfully informed me my bags were in fact at the airport in Mexico City (this was of course not an employee of the airport but a friend who knew the laws). While I was awaiting my bag @wistful had finally arrived for me. As soon as I saw her she knew just what I needed...a hug.
She walked over and embraced me as if I had been her best friend since childhood. In that moment I forgot about how the rest felt. The weekend was beautiful and I was determined to not let this portion of it all ruin the rest.
They drove me back to their place and made me a cocktail to sip while I talked. I was so tired (I hadn't eaten since breakfast), worried, and stressed that I couldn't shut up if I tried. I ended up staying up the entire night out of fear I would over sleep and be in the same situation again. They sat with me. Around 5:30 in the morning they let me use their shower and quickly retuned me to the airport. She even came in with me to help translate so I wouldn't end up in the same predicament again. We said our goodbyes and I felt as if I was walking away from one of the kindest women I had ever met. I was frustrated and sad that I was unable to go home the day before, but in a strange way I was grateful because I was able to make another friend.
(I have awful trust issues and see my self losing faith in humanity; but every time I go to Mexico. I have experiences that last a life time. Experiences that show me just how loving and caring people really can be. This was just that. I made a life long friend that night...and who knows if that would have happened in any other way.)
I arrived at the airport so early I didn't even have a gate yet. I wouldn't be able yo find that out for about another 3 hours. I decided to sit near where my gate was the night prior. My flight was leaving at 11am and I was going to be on it come hell or high water! I was so delirious at his time that I could not stop crying. I have never felt so scared or helpless my entire life. I didn't know what to do or where to even begin...so I sat and stared. At 9:30 I was able to get my gate number and moved the entire 10 feet from where I had been sitting the entire time. Around this time a friend text to check on me. This is when it was brought to my attention that I had not eaten or had anything to drink beside the single scotch the night before in over 24 hours. I was so upset and sick that I still had no appetite.
My friend directed me to get something and force myself to eat at least half of it. Thankfully there was a cafe directly across from me, and I wanted to bring back a burrito for the friend that bought my ticket home. It was the absolute least I could have done. As I was eating the first few bites they began to board the plane. This helped me get down half of my veggie pita before I couldn't take another bite. I threw the rest away and walked toward the gate. Nearly frozen I was stunned when I was able to get on the plane. As I walked down the corridor I couldn't believe it was real. I was almost home. I was edging closer and closer to my own home.
As I took a plane selfie (I hate flying and have never been so happy to be on a plane, even though I really don't look all that happy) we began to taxi and I began to cry. I was going home. No one was stopping me! It was happening! I attempted to sleep since I had been up for over 30 hours at this point, but apparently it was not going to happen. I eventually gave up and made friends with the 2/3 year old boy in the row in front of me. We pointed at our noses, ears, and mouths, laughed and played peek-a-boo. He was the last one to help me smile. He didn't even know or understand the joy and warmth he was bringing to my heart.
When I arrived in the US they had to deconstruct my entire suitcase and duffle bag since I was out of the country longer than I stated I was going to be when I left. At this point I don't even care. I had nothing to hide (except 2 apples apparently haha) so I took it in stride. The man raiding my dirty laundry and tampons also happened to be a fan of mine. So when he was done learning about me via my luggage, I gave him a free print smiled and ran with about 80lbs of crap!
My friend Cesar was picking me up and had brought my baby Bella with him. I ran as fast as I could to them and hugged them like I was never going to see them again.
This was one of the most interesting experiences in my entire life...yet still one of the most rewarding! I am so super excited to return to Con Comics next year (hopefully both Texas and Mexico) BUT you better believe I will never make that same mistake again! haha
XOXO
Miss Olivia Black Suicide
