September 5, 2010 (Day 1)
Well, it's official. The day has come for me to once again leave behind family, friends and a very special boy, so that I may strive to make a difference in a child's life across the world (with a little bit of selfish travel mixed in there, of course!).
I spent my last night in the states with Darrick and this morning marked a morning filled with tears, stolen glances, incessant kisses and strong embraces. Tearing myself from his arms, I managed to make a very tearful drive home where, upon arriving, I showered, packed and weighed my bags one last time and stole a maple bar (only get them when daddy goes to the store) for breakfast/lunch.
Finally got to the airport, waved "bon voyage" to my parents and made my way to the terminal where I got to fill out paperwork for customs for arrival in Canada (lucky me! I got to go through customs twice in one day!) and said my final good-byes via text, facebook and e-mail.
Had a relatively short flight (2 hours) to Calgary where I sat next to a really interesting high school girl who spent the summer doing a Rock and Roll camp for girls in Portland. Amidst the conversation, I was informed that I need to check out the 24 hour church of Elvis off of Couch and 4th when I get home and that Calgary is not a place she would recommend to visit when I see more of Canada than just the inside of the airport.
Arriving in Calgary, I was directed through a series of hallways, which seemed more and more like a maze where I was directed to pick up my bags (Okay.. Picture this.. A girl weighing a mere 100 lbs with a 25 pound backpack on her back, a 5 pound purse on her shoulder and a 35 pound piece of luggage in each hand being toted behind her), go through customs, re-check my bags, go through immigration before finally coming to the security scanners where I was subjected to... Yep! You guessed it... a "random" search of my purse... (I always have the best luck when it comes to airport security. Guess I look like I could do some damage.) Anyways, was hastily told directions to my terminal, which, thanks to my foresight to scope out any British sounding people on my flight from Portland to Calgary, was fairly easy to find because I simply followed who I hoped was heading to London!
Said my final good bye to Darrick and my parents via text message and then boarded my 9 hour flight to the Heathrow airport. Upon entering the plane, there was an elderly lady who had taken my seat (hers was behind my seat), but instead of making her move, I just took her seat. Spent the first hour of the flight being regaled with amazing stories by her husband about how he was born and raised in Zimbabwe and then moved to London 10 years ago to be closer to his children and grandchildren. He then told me that I should look into Bath and Bristol as good cities to visit and had some of the most amazing stories to tell. Though, if I'm being honest, I would probably deem any story he told amazing just to listen to him talk.
Wound up having a less than palatable meal of chicken and pasta, some mashed up mush, which one might call "vegetables" if they worked for Air Canada, a roll, a Coke and a brownie. Watched the ending of Shrek Happily Ever After, which I had not seen and tried to watch several movies since my annoying self cannot manage to sleep on transportation without being overtly exhausted or utilizing the help of libations to lull me into slumber. Grrr!
Things I leanred today:
1. Never ask a high school girl where she's headed to on a plane unless you're prepared to be regaled with her life story for the duration of a 2 hour flight.
2. In Canada, you do not have to take off your shoes to go through security.. Wish I'd known that before I was one of the few who was trying to be proactive and took them off beforehand.
No comments:
Post a Comment