Safe and Sound

Why, hello Jet Lag! It’s so nice to meet you again!

After being more or less awake for more than 24 hours, wouldn’t it be normal to sleep for more than 5 hours? And maybe not wake up at 4:30am? Yeah, I thought so too.

Oh well, I guess there’s a lot running through my mind.

Like my shopping list:

-      Shampoo

-      Conditioner

-      Q-tips

-      Toothpaste

-      Hair spray

-      Etc.

And the few glimpses of the village I caught as we drove through it from Edinburgh airport. I am very excited to explore! And my pretty little room with it’s own little bathroom. And the three sheep dogs. (Don’t worry Bessie, you haven’t been replaced in my heart!) And the fact that the Howies are so welcoming. I had no choice but to feel at home from the moment they met me at the airport. James and Thomas chattered almost non-stop on the way home. They taught me how to play Harry Potter games on an iPod Touch. (Much practice is needed, I found!) I am very blessed to have been given such an amazing opportunity!

The Trip.

The trip went fairly well. I mean, I managed to navigate both Vancouver and the infamous Heathrow airports and end up in the right places. Sounds pretty successful to me J

Saying good-bye to my family was a little bit tearful, but as soon as I was through security, I was so focused on getting on the right plane that I didn’t have time to be sad. That’ll come, I’m sure.

Vancouver to Heathrow was a long flight. Airplane seats are obviously intended for people under 5’ with short legs. Josie, I thought of dead yaks as I had to take a couple things out of my backpack to fit it into the overhead compartment. The descent was so bumpy! My stomach tried to escape out my throat several times. No fault of the pilot’s though. Apparently it was very windy in London. Some people clapped when we finally landed.

Heathrow. I have to admit; there were moments when I mentally renamed it with a much less flattering, more sulfurous name. But really it doesn’t quite deserve it. Tip: Always fill out landing cards, even if you don’t think you need to. Even if you’re told you don’t need to. Because you will need to.

Once I got over my unwarranted moment of panic at the thought of missing my flight, Heathrow was still huge and confusing. You have to take little shuttle trains to get to the different gates and terminals. It also has this way of not telling you which gate you need to be in until boarding starts. So if you are on the other side of the airport from where you need to be, you had better just hurry your little butt up!

There were countless little places to buy food or coffee. I didn’t though, mostly because I was too nervous about being at the right gate in time. There are also tons of little boutiques and displays from brands like Chanel. Julia would love it here, I thought. Too bad I was so tired and sick of lugging my ridiculously heavy backpack. Instead, I parked in front of the screen with the list of flights and gates and pretended that I was reading and not staring at the board, hoping my gate number would appear and NOT be in one that required a shuttle to get to.  (It wasn’t.)

Flying over the UK at night is one of the most beautiful things ever. The lights of all the cities and towns made gorgeous, intricate designs over the whole landscape. It looked like lace, with strands of seed pearls marking out the major routes and connecting the different parts of the pattern.

-----------

Esther, James, Thomas and I took the dogs (3 border collie types) for a walk up Lucklaw Hill this morning. The view was spectacular! Rolling hills, far, misty mountains,  heather, wind, etc, etc. I'll definitely have to take a trip or two down there with my camera. This afternoon we made a trip into Cupar. Cupar is the nearest town that you can actually buy things at, apparently. Another place that requires some serious photographic attention. It was like being in a different time period!  Think old stone buildings with narrow twisting alleys in between... 

*sigh* 

---------------

I haven't taken any pictures from my trip at all yet, but they'll come, I promise. In the meantime, here are a few pre-trip photos: 

My card from my Wonderful Friends

Lexi brought me Breakfast in Bed on Wednesday morning. Josie decided to join... 

My Luggage. That's right, only ONE suitcase!
It was overweight though...

My pretty little room at Holly Cottage :)
Not exactly pre-trip, I know, but I just took it about 5 minutes ago...