Well, I'm sure you all know by this point, but I did make it home safely yesterday, around 1:30 pm, after successfully making none of my connections. It was a really, really, really long day. On the four-hour Newark-Denver flight I was stuck next to an enormous man (not fat, just BIG) who, in spite of the armrest, couldn't keep to his own seat. So I was trying to sleep scrunched over to the other side, half on top of the guy who was reading a book about how twenty-something white chicks are, as a whole, the worst thing happening to this nation. The first guy also, after drinking vodka and orange juice with his breakfast, started giving me advice on everything I was doing, including getting my carryon bag under the seat (sir, I cannot tell you how many times I have managed this all by myself) and making my connection. That last bit turned out to be useless, because they had simply booked my flights too close together, so I missed the connection and had a two-hour layover in Denver. Which was fine, because it gave me time to convert my poor useless ££ to $$ and buy a toothbrush and brush my teeth for the first time in a day and a half. (Forgot mine in Edinburgh. Fail. Of all the things to leave.) But I made it on the next flight and got home.
The money conversion was kind of funny. The lady insisted that while my coins were British pounds, the notes were Scottish pounds, and therefore she couldn't convert them together and would have to charge me separate conversion fees. I wasn't going to argue with her at that point in my day, but I had to laugh. Really?? I'm pretty sure Scotland is Britain. Nice try, hon.
Also: it turns out that not twenty minutes after I left Newark, there was a bomb scare and they evacuated an entire terminal. Not my terminal, but I'm still INCREDIBLY glad I made it out of there before then. It turned out to be a boxed computer monitor delivered (legitimately) to an American Airlines ticket counter that was emitting small amounts of radioactivity. Win.
But anyway. This European snow thing is turning out to be truly a nightmare. The more I read the news and other students' Facebook statuses, the more I'm realizing how lucky it was that I got out on Sunday. Thursday is the day they've told a lot of people, but flights are still being cancelled, and one American girl I was in Edinburgh with is stuck until Christmas. My heart goes out to them. By the end of the semester we're all so incredibly ready to just go home, and to be denied that is - while clearly not the worst thing that could possibly happen - really, really tough. So all I want for Christmas is for everyone in Edinburgh to get home safely and soon.
So...I'm home safely, and this is blog post #80. That seems like a good number to end on. As for requests to continue blogging now that I'm home...we'll see. :) For now, thank you, thank you, thank you all for your support and prayers. It was the best semester I could possibly have asked for. I can't wait to be back at WashU in the spring, and I can't wait to be with all of you in person (wherever you are) and tell you about my adventures and hear about yours. Merry Christmas!
All my love,
Melody
Wow despite having missed all of your connections, you are still incredibly lucky with getting out of both Edinburgh and Newark. So glad you could make it home for the holidays. Know how much it means to you.
ReplyDeleteYou know my opinion on the blog continuation already, but I'll say it again anyway: keep writing! You're an awesome writer and all of your posts have so much voice. They are so uniquely you. Even if you don't continue, congrats on an amazing semester and an awesome accompanying blog.