(Sorry this is late! I did not get internet until today! This was July 4/ July 5).
Well I began my journey finally. Nothing really went wrong on the fourth except a slight hiccup, but I will get to that later. I was the first one at the airport, hug my parents’ goodbye one more time and went to check my bags (I was under! only 19.6 kg!). I was heading towards security when Liz stopped me. From there I went back to baggage and told her how to check in. Once in line Chris, Lauren M and Darian popped up. Then the five of us went through security. I got behind the dad with the stroller. Not a pretty picture. Boarding started at 4:45 pm however, I noticed that it was not even our plane. After a trip around to get munchies (we were unsure whether we would get food….) our plane was being put into place. It really did not matter since all 6 of us ended up finding everyone. Also to help get into the mood all the flight attendants had wonderful accents. As the plane pulled in, one cannot help but notice the 1940’s pinup girl on the plane’s face “waving” the British flag.
Once on the plan we found about a slight hiccup: the fuel guy was not sure how much fuel he put in and was thinking he might have to do an oil drip test. They did the test and we did not take-off until 7 (so I’m told, we were supposed to leave at 6pm). The flight takeoff was exhilarating (that is always my favorite part). Dinner was yummy: chicken on rice with steamed broccoli with lemon and spices, served with a weird coleslaw salad and fruit salad. Yay! Go low-sodium reduced meals!!! During Dinner I was watching Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The set up was nice: everyone had their own TV screen where we could pick a butt load of free movies, to shows, and music.
Ever wonder how much trust we have in the pilots? That trust is blind. We expect them to do their job: Get us in the air safely and back down safely. Also to handle the not so much fun turbulence. Morbid thoughts? Yes well I had a lot of time to think about it because sleep did not come as easy as I would have liked. My brain would not be quiet. However I think I must have slept some since the flight countdown, on the fun TV, said I had less than 3 hours. Woot. I got to a point where it was too hard to even try and sleep and decided to watch another movie: When in Rome. However that movie was cut short as the flight attendants came around with breakfast sandwiches. We had to wait in line a little bit before we could unload.
Finally off the plan we followed all the people and the school bus yellow signs that lead us to baggage and customs. We all got through easily and with my first passport stamp I was on my way to reclaim my luggage. After luggage we found the bus terminal that would bring us to Brighton. I understand why it was a 21/2=3 hoir trip: we went to a bunch of different Airport locations to pick up and drop off. I was able to take power naps on and off the bus. But I was still very tired! However the tiredness disappeared when I realized that we were in Brighton. The city is amazing, a mix of old and new and something in between. It is nice and bright and sunny and we even passed very close to the amazing pier. Once we found a taxi to get us to the campus. However he was very aggressive taxi driver: driving on the bus lanes, zooming in and around people. It was crazy. Not to mention that once I got into Brighton it was a little unnerving driving in the wrong lane. I have noticed that all drivers here are very aggressive. Fun.
As our driver was about to take us the wrong way on campus we found the rest of the group who had arrived before us. The six who were on my flight quickly got our keys, threw our things in our rooms and stepped outside only to find Mary and Zoey, our cute dorm moms, waiting to take us shopping. Well that was fun inside self. Not really. More organization next time.
After putting away and having random dinner (everyone had something fifferent). The groups decided to split up. My group stayed here and walked around and out of campus to the University of Sussex. We were just exploring and turning where we fancied. It was nice. There are a lot of little flowers everywhere. The weather was nice warm and sunny. After walking past the train station (finding it by accident) we started playing cards. I learned poker. I think. Then we needed something else to do since it was still only around 7:30 pm here and were trying hard not to sleep. That was a battle I was losing. Finally I dragged out my computer and we watched Star Trek and had the “bubbly” pudding from the store we had just bought.
Pictures to come soon. We seem to have a wonderful schedule and aside from the driving, I am not used to being up when everyone else is still sleeping at home.
British words of the day: Lift= elevator, Coach= bus, Car Park= parking lots.
No comments:
Post a Comment