Day Thirty Six: The Road Home

After I wrote that previous post, I hung out for a bit at the dorms. Some people were doing a pancake supper at midnight, so most of us went to that. There were a lot of us there (Donald, Alex, Virlinda, Ditoria, Ontaria, Amanda, Katie, Jake, Brandy, Anjelica, etc. etc.) We all sat around for several hours and just had a good time. They made (real) bacon, waffles, and pancakes. It was a fun final hoorah in London.

One of the teachers, Dr. Lang, came up to us at 2:00 a.m., when the party was winding down, and complained about the noise. She said we had kept her awake for the past two hours. Of course, she could have just come and notified us we were too loud two hours earlier. Really though, I'm not sure it would have made a difference. We were hyper, ready to go, and just plain excited. I had all ready packed. I had my grades. I was going to be boarding a plane in a few short hours. I wasn't really concerned at all about my behavior. In retrospect, that's no way to act.

We climbed about a bus (coach) around 3:45 in the morning. We were all tired, but running on some sort of invisible steam. We looked really ridiculous standing out on the street at that hour of the morning, talking loud and making jokes. I think Gideon mooned Gabe up from Gideon's room, since he had several more hours until they left. We all got aboard the bus and had to wait a few minutes on Katie, who was running behind in her packing. We then took the forty-five minute ride out to Heathrow Airport. It felt really strange and kind of liberating to look around at London and realize that the place I had lived for five weeks I would probably never see again. Even though I had stayed there for five weeks and made some really great friends and had an awesome time, London didn't feel like home. I didn't have the connection with it that I had had with previous places I've stayed. I actually feel a bit more sad when I leave Lynn Haven than when I left London.

The lines at Heathrow were outrageous. We arrived later than the 2-3 hours they recommend, I was almost certain that we would end up missing our flights. We stood in line for at least an hour or so, complaining about the wait, and they finally let us know that since we had so many people on our flight to Frankfurt, they were holding the plane for us. So, they opened up a special line for our flight just as I had finished checking in. I then made my way through Heathrow Airport, found our terminal, and climbed aboard the plane to Frankfurt.

The ride to Frankfurt was miserable. I had a nice aisle seat that allowed me to spread out, but the ride was tiresome. I may have napped a few minutes, I'm not really sure. They served us a horrible cheese sandwich that I took two bites of before putting it down. We hit some up-and-down turbulence and I started feeling incredibly nauseous. Thankfully we landed when we did, because I had the feeling I was going to be sick. When we arrived at the Frankfurt airport I was so relieved to just breathe semi-fresh air. We took the bus off the runway to the airport terminal and arrived just in time to make our flight back to America.

I wanted to stop and get something to eat or drink since I was still feeling a bit sick, but we didn't really have time. I was so relieved once we boarded the plane bound for Atlanta. The sound system on the plane wasn't working, so we didn't get to watch the movie (Blades of Glory), but that wasn't really that big of a deal. They served us plenty of drinks and even some rather distasteful meal that made me more angry than anything. It was not very good and all I really wanted to do was get back to American and eat some real food.

I managed to sleep about two or three hours on the ride back, which was nice. But, perhaps the greatest thing of all about the flight was touching down in Atlanta. It felt so good to be back in America. We cheered when we landed. Once we were off the plane we went through customs, collected our bags, sent them back through to be checked, went through security, then had to go collect our bags once again. It was all a hassle, but it went by pretty quick. I was just thrilled to be back. I didn't really say much to the people I had become friends with in London. I'm not sure why. I'm not sure if it was because I was so anxious to get back, that most of them were there with their friends and family, or just because it's not in my disposition. I said goodbye to a few, but once I collected my bags, I was more concerned with getting on the Groome bus and getting back to Columbus, Georgia.

It was swelteringly hot once I got outside. That was the first real sign that I was home. Also, the people spoke to me. That was the second sign. I had to wait outside for about fifteen or twenty minutes before the Groome bus to Columbus came (there was one going to Macon all ready there when I got there). I spoke to a guy who was going from Atlanta to Columbus and needed to get to Columbus in time to check into his hotel. I don't know if this had anything to do with motivating our driver, but she got us back home in record time. We actually arrived back in Columbus in less than an hour and a half.

I immediately called my parents once I got off of the bus. Within ten minutes they were pulling up in my Dad's silver Grand Prix to get me. The car was a total mess in the backseat and the trunk--another sign that I was truly home. Not to mention, it was just wonderful to see my parents. I loaded up my things and chatted with them while we road back to the house.

I suppose this effectively ended my adventure in England, but I will let you know that once I got home I took a shower and we all went to Carrabba's for dinner. Real food. Yum. Even as I write this (Sunday, August 5, 2007), I'm still amazed that it's all over. It just surprises me how much time flies and how soon things come to an end. I can say that I'm very thankful for the opportunity I had to go to England, and even more thankful to the friends and family that were supportive of me while I was there and since I've been back home. I have said it before, but I think I can best sum up my trip in three words: God Bless America.

Day Thirty Five: The Last Full Day

I started the day off by going to Gregg’s and getting a sausage roll, donut, and a piece of Tottenham Cake for breakfast. It was all quite tasty and I really enjoyed it. After breakfast I got a shower then I began my packing routine. That’s when the real fun began.

Our bags are required to be 50 pounds or less each. Well, I bought another bag earlier in the week to handle my souvenirs. Unfortunately, when it came time to pack, my main was well over 50 pounds. So, I took my bag back to the street vendor I bought it from and exchanged it for another bag. I ended up having to pay an extra fifteen pounds for my new bag, which honestly, is not too large. For the same price I could have gotten a larger bag from that same vendor, but I realized this after the purchase. I’m not too worried about it, because I don’t really need anymore luggage at all. We’ve got so many pieces of luggage at the house right now that it’s ridiculous, and I certainly don’t need another big piece.

Anyways, I got back to the dorms and continued packing. I took the four Hanes t-shirts I got for this trip, as well as an old long sleeve shirt I brought (which I found out the other day had a hole in it), and the hoodie I bought here down to the YMCA charity shop. I had planned on donating all of that to Goodwill when I got back home, but with the weight limit on bag as high as it was, I knew I had to go ahead and get rid of it. I would end up taking my flip flops that I bought and donating those as well. But, I was really confused on the whole bag situation.

I really have not bought a whole lot of souvenirs, especially heavy souvenirs. I have bought quite a few books, but mostly all of the books I bought where in my smaller bag. By the time I gave away my shirts and whatnot (and keep in mind I am also not bringing back any toiletries), it said my luggage actually weighed at or more than when I brought it over here. I think the scales we were using were a bit off. Right now though I know my bags are at the right weight limit, so I feel confident I won’t have any problems at the airport. Although I don’t like having to tote another bag with me, I really didn’t have any other choice. Shipping stuff back to the states is simply too expensive.

By the time I got done packing my things it was time for lunch. So, I went to Hard Rock Café and got a burger to eat. The food was great, but the service was greatly lacking—much like all of the other restaurant service I’ve had since I’ve been here. I notice that a lot of places include gratuity in with the price of the meals, so I suppose that’s why most of the waiters and waitresses here don’t even try.

When I got back to the dorms after lunch, I found Ashley and bought the extra ticket she had for the Lion King this evening. I then went to sleep for a little bit until it was time for the show. Prior to this I had gone and exchanged my money for U.S. dollars and stopped in a comic shop and bought a few things. My nap was a bit brief, but dinner would wake me up a bit. We ate at an Italian restaurant down the street call Zizzi’s. Everyone had been talking about how good it is, but I was quite disappointed.

I paid ten pounds for a pasta dish that was loaded with mushrooms (the description made the mushrooms sound secondary) and very little chicken. The sauce was quite bland and wouldn’t stick to the noodles, so it was like eating plain noodles. There are quite a few Italian restaurants in the area, and I’m pretty sure that one or two of them are probably better than Zizzi’s. Nonetheless, it was Donald, Virlinda, Ashley, and myself eating there and we all had a great time.

After dinner we made our way to Charing Cross to go to the show. Ashley found the theatre for us with ease and before too long, we were climbing steps up to the level our tickets were on and getting ready to watch the Lion King. Donald had purchased his own ticket yesterday and he was sitting on the floor level. Virlinda, Ashley, and I were all up a level. The seats were still excellent though. And let me go ahead and say this: I’m not a big fan of theatre, but the Lion King was amazing. The costumes, lighting, music, acting—all of it was out of this world. Everyone did such an amazing job.

On our way back I had to bum some money from Donald to put on my Oyster card. The cards expired yesterday, and since they had put a little extra money on them for our Saturday and Sunday travel when we first got here, we were able to travel around a bit today. But, I only had a few pence left on my card, and it wasn’t enough to get from Charing Cross to Goodge Street. Although I could have walked, Donald was nice enough to loan me the money. So, it was our final ride on the London Underground.

I’m not just finishing up this blog post, which I won’t actually get to post until I get home. My Internet finally expired around noon today. It lasted a lot longer than I was expecting and I’m thankful for that.

I can honestly say now that I’m looking forward to getting back home. It has been five weeks and I’ve gotten to see everything in London that I wanted to see. If there was anything really that I would want to see, I would like to get another shot at watching the changing of the guard, row the Serpentine, see the statues of John Wesley and his old home (which I think are in London), and maybe see Abbey Road just to say I’ve been there. But overall, I didn’t do that stuff because I wasn’t that motivated to do it. Everything I’ve wanted to see and do, I’ve done. Someone asked me earlier if I planned on coming back, and I told them I did: I do plan to return to England one day if possible. If I come back to England though, I have no intentions of returning to London.

I’ve loved my stay in England and I think it’s a wonderful country. And really, I’ve liked my time in London. Seeing the sites and whatnot have been really great. But as I’ve said here many, many times before: I’m not very fond of big cities and London is a very big city. That aside, I think this has been a really great experience for me. It’s taught me a lot about how to treat people (especially today after an incident with a bum and then a lady who was quite nice to me though she didn’t have to be), and just in general has affected the way I see the world.

I think I’ve come to realize even more that although we are different, we all share some very common elements. I’m willing to bet that metropolitan life is the same no matter where you got and no matter what country you’re in. Likewise, some traits that we may not chose to accept are also prevalent. Most of us like to think of Europe as a wonderful, cultured place. I hate to bring this to light, but it’s not as cheery as we make it seem to be. Racism is quite prevalent here from what I understand, as is a very rigid social hierarchy system. Remember the riots in France that happened a little ways back? Those were race riots. Which, on the top of France/Paris, I heard that the old stereotype of the French smelling bad is very much true.

It’s really kind of funny now that I think about it. Everyone I spoke to made it seem like studying abroad would really allow me to broaden my thinking and be more accepting and tolerant of people that are different from me. Everyone has said what a life-changing experience it would be. And while it has been a life-changing experience, it hasn’t been this great, massive thing that I was expecting. If anything, it’s made me realize that my beliefs about humanity as a whole have been right all along: we don’t know what we’re doing and we seriously need some help.

Materialism, greed, lust, and selfishness are killing us. They make life seem almost unbearable. Guns are obviously not the root of violence, as the people over here have a real problem with knife attacks. Have a wealthy society doesn’t mean there still aren’t poor people, because they’re all around us here. Drugs and alcoholism are a vicious disease that turns people away from what they could be and into some so much worse, and something completely unappealing. I’ve begun to realize that all of us, myself especially, need to slow down and take it easy. There’s no point in rushing because at the end of the day we’re all going to face the same Maker and trying to get as much as you can before you get there is meaningless.

I think from a spiritual standpoint I was really hoping to get some sort of revival out of this trip. That hasn’t really happened yet. I suppose I should since I see how much the world needs God, but at the same time, it’s like the people here have no interest. But you can tell the people here are searching for something. You can’t live lives the way they live here and not be looking for some gap to fill. I suppose many of them have become disillusioned with the church here because it’s been here so long and been abused in many ways.

I guess I'm just at a weird standpoint right now. I'm nearing the end of my trip here and I'm trying to decide exactly what it is that I've learned. I feel like I've learned a lot, or at least that I should have learned a lot, but I really can't say what it is that I have learned. Hopefully as time goes on that will reveal itself.