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.
