Day 1
Our flight from Springfield left Wednesday afternoon, December 15. Now, after a connection through Dallas, Ruthie and I are hanging out in the London airport. Why? That would be due to the fact that we missed our connection to Nairobi. The luggage crew in Dallas loaded some containers wrong (or something to that extent) and we waited on the tarmack for an hour and half before take-off while they re-packed our luggage. Well, because of this unintended event, we landed in London late.
As we waited on board the plane after touching down in London, Ruthie and I started to become anxious about making our next flight. The minutes slipped by and, with it, our hopes of making our connection. We pulled up to the airport at 10:06 a.m. and our next flight left at 10:10 a.m. And that was even before we could get off of the plane. So, we accepted the reality that we would have to wait for a flight, took our time and retrieved our carry-ons, then got in an enormously long line to have our schedule corrected. Fortunately, we were able to get on an evening flight with a different airline. Now we will arrive in Kenya around 6:30 a.m. Friday (17th) morning instead of 9:00 p.m. Thursday (16th) night.
Traveling is such an amazing experience. It greatly expands your view of the world, the people of it, the different customs and lifestyle of cultures, and the similarities of humanity that cross all other barriers. For example, I love standing in line and observing other people - all of us with different colors of skin, heights, and languages, yet we can communicate with the simplest gesture or the glimpse of a smile. Traveling also brings out people's true character. I've seen frustrated, exhausted travelers, and I've also seen parents with great patience and joy. I've seen travelers give up their seat so a family can sit together, and I've also seen travelers run other people over on the walkways in their hurry to get somewhere.
Some of the more interesting things I've seen in London that are not common to the States follow: 1) Driving on the left side of the road; this one still gets me, even after being in India. 2) Calling sandwiches, "toasties"; funny story, I asked the waitress what a toastie was and she couldn't really explain it. So I offered a suggestion: perhaps it was like toast, a piece of bread, etc. She agreed, but upon further clarification, we determined it was sandwich. Haha! Gotta love being separated by a common language. 3) Everything is in pounds. Aaagh! This wouldn't be nearly as frustrating as it is at the moment if we knew the conversion rate. Alas, we don't. So, pretty much we don't know if we are spending a lot or a little, how much tax might be, if there's tax at all, how much to tip, etc. Never thought it could be so complicated. 4) The pronunciation of certain words and usage of other words for common things. For example, elevators here are called "lifts." Also, tomato soup and basil are pronounced toe-mah-toe and bah-sill. If I didn't know what they were saying in context, I might not be able to understand their lingo at all!!! :)
Well, that's it for now. There are about 12 hours more between me and Nairobi!!! Until then, I'm going to hunt up a Starbucks for some much needed caffeine. I'm on guard now while Ruthie sleeps - otherwise, our stuff might be stolen or we could both oversleep our flight. Now wouldn't that be just peachy if we missed our 2nd try connecting to Kenya!
2 comments:
Oh no! Missing a flight must be a terrible feeling! I've come close before. At least you're arrival time in Kenya was only delayed about 10 hours. Could've been worse I guess. Sure makes for a good story though!
Well enjoy your Starbucks, or should I say "Stahbucks." haha Stay awake!
*Memory check! (don't look back right away): What contraction did I use incorrectly?
I didn't even have to check which contraction was wrong because I saw it the first time reading through your comment. It would definitely be "you're." I usually read contractions as if they weren't contractions (guess it's because of all the editing/grammar checking I've done)!
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