My First England Trip - The Airport Friday and Saturday (April 26-27, 2013)

         I opened my eyes to my mother telling me we were almost at the airport. I stayed leaned back in the car seat, feeling the hum off the vehicle, trying to wake up. When I finally sat up, bringing the back with me, I looked out the window. We were coming up to O'Hare airport in Chicago, Illinois. I rubbed my eyes, trying to gather my mind as to why I was here.
        I had stayed up the night before trying to finish writing my first book, Kubrit (A task that would have been much easier had my computer not crashed and half of what I had written was erased). I remembered thinking, If the plane crashes, I at least want the gist of this done. (Positive thought, right?). I saved the file, finished packing, jumped into mother's car, and fell asleep. The rest comes back to me as we near the sidewalk entrance. I was on my first trip alone. My destinations: Bath Spa and London, England. My heart started to beat in my chest, my mind fully awake now. I jumped out of the car as we parked, everything had to be timed perfectly so the crowd of cars behind didn't get annoyed. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and pulled the wheeling suitcase from the backseat. I hugged and kissed my mother and walked into the airport.
      Did I mention that this was my first trip alone? I was on a lot of family vacations, but everything was done for me. So, there were two options for me. Continue the stereotype of men refusing to ask directions, or swallow the pride I didn't have and ask for help. I asked and was directed to the line I needed to be in, my suitcase small enough to be carry on.

      I looked ahead to find the body scanners. I had read article on the best way to handle the situation. Demanding that they put your shoes on after making you take them off is not one of them. Still tired, I forgot that I was wearing a belt and the machine beeped at me. As if turning around and facing everyone that I was holding up wasn't embarrassing enough, I had to wait in line in socks until my turn came around again. I made it through no problem the second time and gathered my things, heading for my terminal. It was a long stretch and I found myself huffing and puffing as I reached my area. I should have worked out more, I thought as I sat down, waiting for my flight.

      An announcement came over the speaker, letting me know that the flight was running late, but would be arriving in half an hour. I twiddled my thumbs and checked my packs every few seconds. My nerves were creeping up again. I shouldn't be on my own, I told myself. I should be back home, perfecting my book. I was crumbling. Forget a sleepover at a friends house for a week, I was staying overseas for almost two weeks! Who knew if I would even make it. The plane could crash!
      While I was in my worry, the plane landed, passengers exited, and all that was left was to wait until they called my seat. I texted a few friends, called another few. The responses I received made me feel more confident, but also made me wish they were right there with me (some offered, but wanted me to pay for their ticket. Not happening!). My seating was called and I got up into the boarding line.
      "Where are you headed to?" the woman behind me asked.
      I turned to find a woman looking to be in her early sixties smiling up at me.
      "Bath Spa and London."
      "Bath Spa is lovely."
      Her voice sounded American, so I figured she was a fellow traveler as well. While the line moved forward slowly, I asked her what she knew about our destination. She told me that her husband was a pastor that was called to a church in England, so they had lived there for a while.
      "I'm heading back after visiting family," she said. "As for things to do, I would suggest heading into a pub for fish n' chips. Oh, and you need to have Sunday Roast, which is usually served around lunch time."
      I assured her I would as we boarded the plane and parted ways, making a mental note to look up what Sunday Roast was.

       I strapped into my window seat, the only other person in my row taking the aisle seat. The plane starts to move and I found my fingernails digging into the armrests. Was it my nerves about my trip? As the plane started to speed up and I was pressed back into my seat, I felt a sickening rise in my stomach. Oh, right, I remembered, I hate take off and landing. While I tried to keep my cool, I couldn't help but look out the window. In a single moment, I felt the gravity of the world disappear around my body as the last of the wheels left the ground. The people become smaller and smaller, the backed up traffic of Chicago becoming a shiny river. The tall buildings that I was in awe of as we got closer in the car were now like Matchbox play sets. The plane turned, making sure to head toward our proper destination. As we broke through the clouds, I could see the sun setting in the distance, its beauty unhindered by city lights or crowded streets. I set the touch screen in the seat in front to the map and then leaned my head against the side. As the clouds flew past my window and the dusk sky turned into a blanket of stars, I found peace within the heavens, my dreams filled with excitement of the future.

      I awoke to a gentle tap on my shoulder. The other passenger in the row was letting me know that dinner was being served. I chose the beef brisket which tasted much better than the past airline food I had been given during the family trips. I checked our progress on the map display as I ate, seeing we were about half way in our 8 hour flight. I checked my phone to find that I had no service and that my phone didn't carry an international package (I had an old flip phone). Guess I will have to communicate through Facebook, I thought to myself as I turned off my phone's power. After dinner, I fell asleep again, this time waking to an announcement from the captain that we were flying directly over Dublin, Ireland. I looked out the window to find the darkness of night broken by a city of lights. I couldn't make out anything specific, but the sparkle of the city made the sight beautiful nonetheless.

       I had read articles about jet lag and that once you landed, you wanted to stay up until that night so your body would adjust to the time change. Knowing that, I stayed up the rest of the flight, the dawn finally pulling back the cover of night. A half an hour later at 5:50 am, the pilot announced the arrival to Heathrow airport. I looked out the window again to find the same blanket of clouds we had been over for the last leg of the journey. Every once in a while, I was able to catch a glimpse of a building or a body of water. Before my observations could amount to much, I felt my stomach lurch into my throat. The plane started to drop as if sliding down a hill slide with several bumps along the way. I found myself gripping the armrests again. I tried to think of how to improve Kubrit. What adventures would I have in this new land? We disappeared into the clouds, my vision obscured. The blindness wasn't helping me relax. We broke through the fluffy white and I saw the ground rising fast.
      "Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god!" I hissed under my breath.
     The plane evened out without so much as a bump. With the grace of a ballet, the pilots rolled the plane up to the terminal exit. I calmed myself as everyone else started to disembark. My body was not yet used to the idea of being on land again. As the crowd thinned, I gathered my backpack, suitcase, and left the plane as well.
       You know that moment in movies and TV shows? The one where the main character arrives somewhere new and they take a moment to appreciate the view? They have a smile or a confident smirk on their face, their eyes alight with passion for their adventure. They breath in deep and let out a contented sigh before picking up their belongings and heading out. This was my moment. I was a stranger in a new land. I wore that smile. I had that passion. I breathed in deeply and realized...I was holding up the people trying to get out of the airport. With my ears turning a shade of red, I gathered everything and followed the crowd who looked like they knew where they were going. Even through my embarrassment, I was excited. My first trip alone in an unknown world was truly beginning!

 
​To be continued...

Music for the Journey Pt. 1:

- Arrival at Airport: Happy Monday by Hashimoto Yukari (Toradora OST)
- Flight to England: To the Sky by Owl City
- Heroic Pose: Arrival by James Dooley (Position Music - Orchestral Series Vol. 2)
- End Pt. 1: Starlight by Muse (Black Holes and Revelations)