Ok so my trip back to Kenya- this was one of my more exciting trips, I gotta say. I made it here safe and sound and there was no sprinting through the airport with 20lbs of books in my backpack like years past. But it was still an adventure.
Since I was flying out of Chicago, my parents and I decided to go a day early- in case the weather was bad or whatever. My travel agent hadn't given me the number I needed to confirm my ticket and baggage and because I was leaving right after an extended holiday weekend she didn't get back to me until I was leaving MI on Tuesday. My flight was confirmed but she said I was only allowed 2 bags. Sometimes with the flights I have I can have up to 3 checked bags (which is AMAZING!!). So I left MI with 2 carefully packed bags that were ounces under the maximum weight and a bag full of stuff I was still trying to rearrange and make fit in my carry-ons, things like every pair of jeans I own, all the books I wanted to bring back- basically everything too heavy to go in my checked luggage. But at 1am, I was in the hotel picking my seats on my flights when I saw that, miracle of miracles, I acutally was allowed 3 pieces of checked luggage. Now I know that to most people this does not sound like a huge deal but it is. Trust me. When you end up carrying most of your earthly possessions around with you- an extra bag always comes in handy. This extra bag meant I could bring an extra set of sheets and towels and I could take all my jeans and books out of my carry on. YAY!!!
So I go to the airport, with 3 pieces of checked luggage, a duffel bag carry-on, a massive purse/laptop bag, a coat and my passport- and all my luggage weighs more then I do. But I got to the airport and all my bags in and checked in without incident. Well, except for watching a very suspicious man get taken down by airport security right in front of me (and my parents- thanks for freaking out my mom creepy dude!) But he was taken way by security and I got on my flights.
Here's where it gets interesting. Unbeknownst to us, London was experiencing hurricane force winds. Apparently the big bridge was swaying and all sorts of other stuff. But we were flying for 9 hours, watching cheesy movies so no one on the plane (except the crew I suppose) had any idea what was coming up. There was some serious turbulence at different points (and when I mean serious- I mean SERIOUS- the 'feels like your falling out of the sky', 'people wake up screaming' kind of turbulence). As we are getting ready to land, the pilot comes on the intercom and says that we are in for some very big turbulence, put your seat belts on and basically just hold on- oh and "know where your exits are". Usually on a flight like this- the take of and landing might be a little rough but not for more then 5 minutes or so. But this was crazy rough for the last 45 minutes. The plane jerking from side to side. Up and down. It never felt like we were out of control- just like when you are driving a big van on the highway and the wind just whips and its hard to control. It was so crazy, people were getting sick. But we landed. Safe and sound. I was at the back of the plane and while I was waiting to get off, the flight attendant was telling the couple next to me that that was the worst winds she'd ever felt (I thought so too- but I figured I don't fly ALL that much). She said if that wind had been in the forecast when we were leaving Chicago, we never would have left. Awesome. Just what you want to hear. At least she kept her mouth shut until we landed.
But after that, the trip was smooth sailing- so to speak. I got back to Kenya, was surprised by my friends picking me up at the airport and I went home to sleep. I'm still fighting jet lag- and it may be winning at the moment. Its always harder on me to fly East. I go to bed at a good time, but I wake up around 2am and I'm wide awake until 7am or so and then I crash for a few hours. But that doesn't help me adjust to the time here! So pray that I get past the jet lag fast!
I got to see some of my kids (and some friends) today but I'm going to try and take it slow until I can get my body back on Kenyan time.
No comments:
Post a Comment