Flight

Things started off well. Was told the first in-flight movie was supposed to be Ice Age – It was 500 Days of Summer instead, a pleasant surprise! Obviously this meant that I did not read my textbook then, or sleep for that hour and a half. Had a lovely dinner of chicken, salad, corn, bread, cheese, crackers, a brownie, peanuts, etc…. the normal plane food. Yum.

Movie number two was Imagine That – those two words together will always bring back memories of Science Camp, therefore I opted to (try to) sleep through this movie. Third was Harry Potter. Also ideal for sleeping, and stargazing. There is a much better view of the stars when you’re in the sky than when you’re living in downtown Atlanta. Weird, right?

About an hour from landing time, I was awoken to some nasty breakfast. There was German on the packaging, so I don’t know what I was expecting. New philosophy: if it’s German and not a Brat (or beer), then it’s probably bad. Maybe one day this will be disproved in Germany.

Next few hours were spent circling around Dublin, hoping winds would chill out enough so we could land this bad boy. No such Irish luck! Had to detour to Manchester (only other option was to run out of gas and crash land – I guess the right choice was made). But, Manchester is a very pretty place to fly into, actually. People don’t seem to be too upset yet, but I think most people are pretty tired. Something about leaving one city at 6 pm, and arriving at another at 8 am without having 14 hours pass is quite strange. There was a little kid in the back of the plane that cheered, “We did it! We did it!” when we landed. I think he was the only one brave enough to verbalize what many people were thinking (especially the tatted up thug three seats over who turned into a complete pansy as we bounced through the air). It was rough flying over Dublin – had that rollercoaster feeling in the pit of your stomach. (I like that feeling.)

So here I sit, in the sketchy back lot of the Manchester Airport, waiting for them to refuel the plane, and Mother Nature to decide we can go to Dublin.

It’s interesting reflecting on the differences between this trip, and my last trip to Europe. For those who do not know about that trip, or have forgotten – it was about 5 years ago (in summer). We started in Great Britain, spent a few days there. Then traveled to France, Italy and Greece. Then ended with a bombdiggity cruise around the Greek Islands. The trip was 19 days (just like this one) but we only spent a few days in each country. We saw a lot, did a lot, and learned a lot.

The biggest difference is that at that point I did not realize the impact that art would have on my life. I enjoyed art, but am not sure I had a passion for it. I definitely did not spend every minute living it, surrounded by it, obsessing over it. We visited museum, after museum. The Tate Modern changed my life. I fell in love with the fact that a glass of water on a shelf, paired with the title “Oak Tree” was enough to be called art, and that it was acceptable for someone to be crazy enough to full heartedly BELIEVE that this glass of water, was in fact an Oak Tree. But, that was just the beginning of the trip. When we were in France we ran through the Louvre – only spent about hour there. But now, I could probably live there for a week.

The craziest difference that’s crossed my mind is that when I was here 5 years ago, I had 5 disposal cameras with me. This time, I have 2 digital cameras (and a computer). There’s a difference between 100 pictures and an infinite number. Oh, how we’ve progressed. Can’t wait to see what it’s like in 5 years when I come back – HOPEFULLY I’LL HAVE A ROBOT WITH ME!!!

Also last time, I think my communication back home consisted of one e-mail that had like 10 words in it. Mom you will have to correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it said “Am doing fine. Miss you, love you. Janet.” Look at me now- I haven’t even gotten to Dublin and my first post is written. Of course, you will have to wait for it to be posted because surprisingly enough there is no wi-fi on this plane. Don’t feel to spoiled by the length, and brilliance of this post. Hopefully I will not have this much free time during the rest of my trip.

Movie number four – Time Traveler’s Wife. Quite an broad range of films showing on this plane. I wish they would play P.S. I Love You, I mean, afterall, we are trying to get to IRELAND!