Travelling ... Travelling

Train, Plane, Bus, Tube, Taxi. You name it, I've done it!

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games - Wii - Wii Games (Google Affiliate Ad)

For part of my final in our English British and Culture course this summer included reflecting on our expectations of American Cultural practices and whether we are looking forward to returning to these, will we find them a struggle or will find readapting to them a challenge, etc. etc. etc. I responded that I think I will find it challenging. Case of example? If there is one thing I’m not looking forward to when I come back it is all the complaining and moaning that Americans do. (I do recognise that I'm moaning and complaining about this.. hypocrite? I think not.) While traveling today, I have heard the same story from the same two families of how they ended up sitting here all day because they made one bad example or choice or whatever that got them off of their plane and waitlisted/standby onto ours to Chicago. They tell anyone who will listen for sympathy but do not accurately step forward and do anything to make a difference for themselves. 

I do feel that I will have a challenging time readapting to some things, such as the public transportation I have available to me here. I am used to getting news from the daily (free) Evening Standard rather than the telly. And I just seem to not have patience for ignorance or tolerance for stupidity. Maybe you can call it hardening up, maybe you can call it growing up, but either way, as much as I want to come home and see everyone again, I do not want to leave this lovely place called England. 

Getting onto the plane to begin with was a challenge. We were informed that the plane was too hot for us to board, causing us to wait a little longer to get on. When finally they allowed us to board from one end of our gate, at the other end you could turn in your carry on luggage to be taken into the cargo area because we didn't have a lot of space on board. While I and about ten or so others went to turn our carry on luggage to the change, they began boarding with no problems. By the time they were calling my zone, I headed down and waited through the line to get on. Just as I handed the attendant my boarding pass, we were asked to hold it for a moment because the plane was still a bit steamy for the captain's taste. After a few minutes of waiting, we were told to go have a seat- with the guarantee that we would still be put on the flight but only after it cooled down considerably more. Within twenty minutes, they pulled everyone from on the plane because in some places it was 103 degrees Fahrenheit and someone had passed out, needed a medic.

We sat for about three hours, waiting for the plane to cool and a part to be changed to help with the air conditioning. In the meantime, I sat with a gentleman from England and another from Northern Canada. It was a good group to be sitting with in for the three hour wait! Once we were able to board and get everything together, I was asleep on the plane with in minutes. I don't even remember the take off! I wasn't out for long, because I did see the beginning of the movie and dinner! After dinner, I decided to be a bit more sociable to the guy sitting next to me. When I came in, I noticed he had some Team USA gear with him (bag, shoes, and sweatshirt) and I had in fact taken a bit of notice to him in the gate before we left. When I could tell he was awake and moving around, I offered to move if he needed to get out and he said that would be great. Upon his return, I asked him a (really dumb) question to see if I would get the answer I assumed... I asked if he was a volunteer for the Olympics or if he was just a really big fan of Team USA? He smiled and laughed a little before informing me that he was on the USA Olympic team. AWESOME. Trevor Barron. #26 of 62 at the 20k. Beat that, all of you! He is a truly humble person and great conversationalist. He is attending school at Denver University and is starting his sophomore year soon-- crazy. When did all the great athletes in the world become younger than me. Oops.

I did the math.. I left Brussels at 12:50am CST (Wisconsin time). I will arrive at home-- if all goes well at 9:00pm CST. Talk about a long freaking day! This morning, my cousin drove me from their house to the Brussels train station. Then I took the train from Brussels to London (happened to have Team Belgium on the train, too!). I then took a tube to get to my friend's room and pick up my luggage (one last picture of my door and street-- so sad!). I took two tubes to get to the airport. I took the plane to Chicago, and my parents picked me up to drive home. The next day, my mom drove me to Milwaukee to catch a plane to New York, I then took a taxi to my friend Jessica's. On Wednesday, I took the Amtrak train to Washington, DC and stayed there until Saturday when I flew back to Milwaukee. Now, I am home. *Next post? You'll hear about NYC and DC!