I postponed my packing until Monday morning since I really didn't have too much to pack. The international weight limit has been dropped down to 50lbs a bag and everyone was stressing about that. Luckily one of the alums brought a travel scale for us to all weigh our bags. Mine were 28.8 and 48.5.
We departed the University of Chicago dorms where we'd been staying the past week at approximately 10:30 with 33 of us on board all leaving on various flights. Checking in was such a hassle since we were all a group with visas. So someone had to verify that we all had visas. Once we were all checked in and had gone through security we still had about 3 hours to kill. I went with some kids from the UK team to Chili's for one last cheeseburger. It was divine!
We hung out at our gate for about 2 hours. When it was finally time to board they informed us that we wouldn't be leaving on time because travel conditions were too favorable and we would end up in London too soon. So we waited longer.
When we were finally on our plane I was lucky enough to have the seat next to me empty. I was hoping it would help me sleep better but of course it didn't. The food was bad, the movies were bad, and I slept badly.
We arrived at Heathrow, London approximately 6AM. When going through passport control I was detained since my visa had been denied after the first application. My passport has been flagged for me to be stopped everytime I enter the country now. The woman at passport control recommended that the flag be removed however gave no guarantees. There is no way for me to check the process and will just have to hope for the best if I travel out of the UK and try to get back in. All of our luggage arrived which was a relief. We said our good-byes and headed off to our respective destinations.
While changing money at the airport since I would have to ride the underground to the train station I saw the best sign: "Give us $400 and we'll give you 181 British pounds". What a welcoming sign!
Unfortunately we were traveling on the underground at the same time the morning commuters were. I know we were hassle with our luggage, but what other option did we have? After an hour on the "tube" and having men help us carry our suitcases up staircases we arrived at the Euston train station. We were lucky enough to get to hang out here for 5 hours until our trains left! We encountered a lovely British woman and her dog Max. When she learned of what we would be doing here for the next year she bought us each a chocolate filled croissant. I've found that the British are very welcoming and friendly.
Our train ride was about 2 hours till our first stop. Amy and I both fell asleep, but I was no nervous that we would miss our stop I didn't sleep too well. We changed trains in Stockport and caught the next train to Buxton. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous passing green rolling hills, cows, and sheep. We were greeted at the train station by Tammy (the neice from Canada) and Jo (a worker from the Good News Family Center). They helped us with our luggage and took us to the Charis House (what the locals call the GNFC) for a brief tour and introduction to some of the residents.
We returned to the house to unpack and get settled. We are both on the third floor of the house with a closet that has been converted into a bathroom. Benard, the volunteer from Nepal lives up here also. I took the smaller of the two rooms with a beautiful view outside.
Around 6 we walked to the grocery store--the equivalent of an Albertson's--to buy groceries for the week. I was proud that I only spent 13 Pounds on food! For dinner the girls made us fajitas and we watched British soap operas. I went to bed around 8PM since I basically had no more energy after such a long travel day.
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