Oh, United Kingdom, how beautiful you are from the air! Really though, it looked like most other cities do from the air. I think it seemed greener, though. As we approached London, the irregular patches of green surrounded by tall hedges changed into tall buildings surrounded by cars.

I consulted the little airplane diagram on the digital map and came to the conclusion that we were close. This was a good thing, because no matter which way I turned in my seat I couldn't relieve the pains from sitting so long. I was given a muffin and some juice. It's crazy how nice and thoughtful a muffin can seem after such a long journey. I think I said "thank you" a few too many times to be considered sane, though.

I said goodbye to my row companion (who was able to get right to sleep. grr) and made my way through another airport. London Heathrow was just as easy to navigate as the other airports, but it was much bigger. The announcements over the loudspeaker were, of course, spoken in an English accent, a change which may have caused me to issue a small squeal, I admit.

May I stop here to note that as I am writing this from my room at Oxford, a scout is behind me vacuuming and making my bed for me. Yes!


Baggage claim was disappointing. My brand-new bright red rolling bag was sufficiently crushed and blackened by the airline. To be expected, I suppose. I got in position to grab my bag off the conveyor belt while everyone looked blank and lethargic, and grabbed at it. It  The corner hit the rim and subsequently bounced off my knee and landed on my toe. My toe! In correction, I pulled it off and onto my other toe. These toes were not very happy. This is the second time I was noticeably limping through an airport.

I was relieved that I was almost finished with thinking of which terminal/shuttle and when. I am exceedingly proud to announce that I navigated my way up an escalator, through a series of hallways, and douwn and elevator to an inter-terminal shuttle (yes, Heathrow is so big that I had to take a subway to get to the bus station there) and then up another elevator and through a shopping area to the correct bus stop. I was beaming at my own lack of touristy-ness.