Originally Written January 14, 2011
It’s two in the morning, local time, on my first Friday night (now Saturday morning) in London and I’m doing laundry…I’ll explain myself as I go.
***Editor’s Note: As I reread the next four paragraphs, I realize that they describe a trip to the airport and the subsequent flight without offering too many insightful details, particularly in relation my unique experience on the trip to London. Although I have chosen to retain the paragraphs, you can read a truncated version of this post by simply skipping to “Reasons I’m Glad That I Brought a Towel”.***
On Wednesday morning, I woke up in the morning and, characteristically, arrived at the airport much earlier than I really needed to be there. A different plane actually left for Chicago from my gate before my plane arrived for the flight to O’Hare, which eventually occurred without a problem and left me with plenty of time to cross the airport to meet the group flight. I even had time to buy a surprisingly good tasting, filling pizza for dinner.
The group boarded the plane – a Boeing 767 featuring a large quantity of high quality first class seats and a two-three-two seating arrangement in coach – in a chaotic fashion and buckled into our seats. As the pilot welcomed us to the aircraft, he casually informed us of a leak in the hydraulic line that needed repair, so we waited on the plane, at the gate, for the hour needed for the expected repair. By the time that an hour had passed, the mechanical crew had determined that they needed much more than an hour, so we deplaned – in a much more orderly fashion than when we boarded – and moved one gate down the concourse, where, after another hour, we received a replacement plane, which we boarded and used for our flight. Fortunately, we had a safe plane in working order, but it’s always annoying when you deal with three hours worth of delays.
Once we were finally in the air, the flight went smoothly. Due to the evening time of our flight, we received dinner at no cost, a surprise, to me, considering the reputation for poor service that some airlines have earned in recent years. During dinner, I watched an edited version of The Social Network, and, after I dinner, I attempted to sleep. I managed to do so for a grand total of twenty minutes before a combination of turbulence and other noises awakened me, so I spent the rest of the flight, approximately five and a half hours, listening to music, staring in to space, regularly checking the convenient GPS flight map installed in the seat in front of me, watching an edited version of The Expendables, and eating the continental breakfast that they
After circling the airport for twenty minutes, we arrived at Heathrow and walked all the way through a surprisingly empty terminal, although the large deal of construction that we saw outside of most of the gates probably explains the barrenness in our corner of the airport. At immigration, I gained admittance as a “Student Visitor” without any issues, and, after baggage claim, I proceeded through customs and into the
It is at this time that I come to the first item in what will be an ongoing list for all of the other Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fans out there:
Reasons I’m Glad That I Brought a Towel
1. When I retrieved my one piece of checked luggage at baggage claim, I found it soaking wet on one side of the bag. A quick check revealed that the water had penetrated the outer lining of the bag, and further inspection upon arrival in my flat revealed that the vast majority of clothes in my bag were either damp or, in the case of my socks, soaking wet. Fortunately, it did not perceive any stains on the clothes, so washing them this evening has returned them to an acceptable condition. However, the articles of clothing most susceptible to even basic water damage – my ties – escaped unscathed, despite their position in the bag, because I wrapped them in the extra towel that I brought with me.
At this time, I have written far more than I need to about the flight while still only managing to recount my flight to London. However, it is time for me to go to bed, so I will leave you here with this cliffhanger before I describe my first few days of adventures in the city. Perhaps, in a way, this can communicate the anticipation that I experienced while not sleeping during the international flight. Before I go, though, I will leave you with the second item on my list:
2. The mattress in my room in my flight is very hard with obvious springs, which creates a stressful and, really, painful sleeping experience for those of us who sleep on our sides. However, by simply folding my towel and placing it under my hip, I slept very comfortably during my first night in the room, thus helping me to quickly recover from the exhaustion following my flight.
Well I just wrote a whole lot about not very much. Today I am going out exploring the city, so by my next post I should have stories about orientation, exploration, and our first weekend in town. There should also finally be some pictures, maybe even some good ones. I am very glad to be here, and I hope that you can stick with me through this procedural, boring post into my (ideally) more interesting posts in the future.
Until then,
Joel
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