My belly is full of Cheerios and eggnog lattes, and my brain is almost caught up to the rest of my body. For the past 36 hours or so, I've felt like I left my brain somewhere between Uganda and Canada. I just hoped I hadn't dropped it in Iceland or something. But I am starting to feel like my brain is catching up. Not quite completely caught up, but getting closer.
My trip home was pretty uneventful. I spent a night with my buddy Grace and her two tots. Those kids are hilarious, and I love being able to spend some time with them once in a while. Grace and I were looking at some old pictures of Jb, and also some old picts from when the kids first came home... and man, we've all come a long way! I'm starting to look exceptionally old, when I compare myself to the photos from when I first got to Jb in 2006. I won't post any photos of that, lest I embarrass myself with my wrinkles and grey hair. As Grace said, I just don't quite look as "perky" as I did back then. Makes me wonder a bit what I would look like now if I hadn't lived all this time in Jb. Would I still be looking fresh-faced and perky, or would I be this tired looking!?
At about 10pm, Grace and her kids dropped me off at the airport, and I boarded my flight. Unfortunately, there weren't any really great movies on, so I dozed a bit on the 9 hour flight and listened to a bit of music. It just looked plain cold and dreary in London, so I was glad I didn't have to get out and go anywhere! I did go through immigration though, and wound my way through a couple of different train stations and finally made it to the Yotel in Terminal 4, where I had booked myself into a "cabin" for 5 hours. And man, what a blissful 5 hours that was! After an overnight flight, and all the craziness of packing and everything, I was SO tired. Having my own little pod in which to lay down and sleep and have a snack and shower... wow. Priceless. The place was unlike any proper hotel I've ever stayed in - it really did feel more like you were in a cabin on a ship or a train, as it was tiny, and there were little "portholes" to the tiny little hallway. But it was spotlessly clean, there was a beautifully huge fluffy bath towel, two fluffy feather pillows, a duvet, and a hot shower. What more can a girl ask for?
I did have a funny little "adjustment" moment, though. I had forgotten to buy some drinking water at the little shop before I climbed into my bed, and I realized that I was really quite thirsty. I was feeling a bit of dread at the thought of having to put my shoes back on, and go back out into the noisy world of the airport to find myself some drinking water, and I was kicking myself for not having thought about getting some drinking water... because, well, in Africa, I never go anywhere, especially to sleep, without making sure that I have enough clean water with me to drink. It actually took me several minutes before I realized that duh, I was in London, and I could just turn on the tap in the bathroom and fill up a cup and drink all that I wanted... for free!
I had lots of water to drink, a nice long nap, watched some silly TV shows, used the free wi-fi, and felt like a real person by the time I had to make my way back into the craziness of the regular airport. It was quite a distance back to Terminal 5, where I had to go through security once again, and by the time I got there, I was in serious need of an eggnog latte. Happily, even British Starbucks have eggnog lattes! When I went up to the counter to actually pay for my drink, I realized just how many times I have actually been through that airport. The woman who took my money asked me how my trip to Uganda was. I realized that she was the same woman who had taken my order for my vanilla latte the last time I had been through the airport, 6 months ago! She actually remembered me and remembered where I had been! I was floored that she remembered me, and it gave me a good chuckle all the way to my gate!
I didn't have that much time to visit the shops, which was fine, since they were all packed out with holiday shoppers, and by the time I got to the gate,my plane was already boarding! I had a good chuckle watching people try to find enough space for all their carry on stuff. Some folks here in Canada are getting some seriously nice Christmas presents, let me tell 'ya! But the poor flight attendants were going a bit nuts trying to help people stuff all their coats and luggage and bags into the overhead bins. They didn't do all that well, either, because at a couple of points in the flight, a couple of the overhead bins actually popped open, and all their contents spilled out into the aisles! I'm really surprised no one got conked on the head by all the stuff raining from the overhead bins.
Once again, there wasn't too much on to watch, but I did watch "The Help", which I'm sure most of you who live in civilization have already seen. Good movie. Good, good movie. I also watched bits and pieces of "Glee: the Movie", which was a cultural experience in and of itself. Let's just say I was glad there was a fast forward button on the menu, but it was, well, somehow enlightening to be introduced to this little bit of my own culture. Bad movie. Bad, bad movie.
Once we landed on the ground, I was actually welcomed home by a nice immigration official (instead of being told that I was just a visitor and having my luggage all checked by extra mean customs officials like they did last time), and my parents were waiting to welcome me home, too... equipped with my winter coat and a pair of mittens :)
It's good to be home. I just hope my brain catches up soon...
My trip home was pretty uneventful. I spent a night with my buddy Grace and her two tots. Those kids are hilarious, and I love being able to spend some time with them once in a while. Grace and I were looking at some old pictures of Jb, and also some old picts from when the kids first came home... and man, we've all come a long way! I'm starting to look exceptionally old, when I compare myself to the photos from when I first got to Jb in 2006. I won't post any photos of that, lest I embarrass myself with my wrinkles and grey hair. As Grace said, I just don't quite look as "perky" as I did back then. Makes me wonder a bit what I would look like now if I hadn't lived all this time in Jb. Would I still be looking fresh-faced and perky, or would I be this tired looking!?
At about 10pm, Grace and her kids dropped me off at the airport, and I boarded my flight. Unfortunately, there weren't any really great movies on, so I dozed a bit on the 9 hour flight and listened to a bit of music. It just looked plain cold and dreary in London, so I was glad I didn't have to get out and go anywhere! I did go through immigration though, and wound my way through a couple of different train stations and finally made it to the Yotel in Terminal 4, where I had booked myself into a "cabin" for 5 hours. And man, what a blissful 5 hours that was! After an overnight flight, and all the craziness of packing and everything, I was SO tired. Having my own little pod in which to lay down and sleep and have a snack and shower... wow. Priceless. The place was unlike any proper hotel I've ever stayed in - it really did feel more like you were in a cabin on a ship or a train, as it was tiny, and there were little "portholes" to the tiny little hallway. But it was spotlessly clean, there was a beautifully huge fluffy bath towel, two fluffy feather pillows, a duvet, and a hot shower. What more can a girl ask for?
I did have a funny little "adjustment" moment, though. I had forgotten to buy some drinking water at the little shop before I climbed into my bed, and I realized that I was really quite thirsty. I was feeling a bit of dread at the thought of having to put my shoes back on, and go back out into the noisy world of the airport to find myself some drinking water, and I was kicking myself for not having thought about getting some drinking water... because, well, in Africa, I never go anywhere, especially to sleep, without making sure that I have enough clean water with me to drink. It actually took me several minutes before I realized that duh, I was in London, and I could just turn on the tap in the bathroom and fill up a cup and drink all that I wanted... for free!
I had lots of water to drink, a nice long nap, watched some silly TV shows, used the free wi-fi, and felt like a real person by the time I had to make my way back into the craziness of the regular airport. It was quite a distance back to Terminal 5, where I had to go through security once again, and by the time I got there, I was in serious need of an eggnog latte. Happily, even British Starbucks have eggnog lattes! When I went up to the counter to actually pay for my drink, I realized just how many times I have actually been through that airport. The woman who took my money asked me how my trip to Uganda was. I realized that she was the same woman who had taken my order for my vanilla latte the last time I had been through the airport, 6 months ago! She actually remembered me and remembered where I had been! I was floored that she remembered me, and it gave me a good chuckle all the way to my gate!
I didn't have that much time to visit the shops, which was fine, since they were all packed out with holiday shoppers, and by the time I got to the gate,my plane was already boarding! I had a good chuckle watching people try to find enough space for all their carry on stuff. Some folks here in Canada are getting some seriously nice Christmas presents, let me tell 'ya! But the poor flight attendants were going a bit nuts trying to help people stuff all their coats and luggage and bags into the overhead bins. They didn't do all that well, either, because at a couple of points in the flight, a couple of the overhead bins actually popped open, and all their contents spilled out into the aisles! I'm really surprised no one got conked on the head by all the stuff raining from the overhead bins.
Once again, there wasn't too much on to watch, but I did watch "The Help", which I'm sure most of you who live in civilization have already seen. Good movie. Good, good movie. I also watched bits and pieces of "Glee: the Movie", which was a cultural experience in and of itself. Let's just say I was glad there was a fast forward button on the menu, but it was, well, somehow enlightening to be introduced to this little bit of my own culture. Bad movie. Bad, bad movie.
Once we landed on the ground, I was actually welcomed home by a nice immigration official (instead of being told that I was just a visitor and having my luggage all checked by extra mean customs officials like they did last time), and my parents were waiting to welcome me home, too... equipped with my winter coat and a pair of mittens :)
It's good to be home. I just hope my brain catches up soon...
2 comments:
makes me want to go to London just to see the yotel... :)
A Yotel? Didn't even that know that existed! So great! Whenever we go through London, we are always hanging out at the Terminal for 6-9 hours!!!!! We'll check it out when we go there next. Good to know you're home. Have a fantastic Christmas!
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