Manchester Airport

There are a few things no one tells you before you study abroad. One is how much work it is just to get there. There are so many things to do before going, I'm sure I've forgotten some. And to top it all off, I'm still not completely sure on a lot of details. For instance, I know how I'm getting to school once we land in Edinburgh, but I have no idea what to do following that. I'm sure I can just sit around and look forlorn until someone comes to help me, but I'd rather not. No one wants to be that girl.

To make matters worse, my supposedly internationally compatible phone keeps telling me my service in unavailable. It detects five bars of service, but keeps flipping the from blue (go ahead, make a call) to gray (Haha, got you! Sorry you can't connect). Maybe next time I should go with Chad and Alltel, despite my love for the AT&T commercial with the Techno Twins. At least I can get a global SIM card within the next few days and get everything worked out.

On the plus side, I've already met two other Americans on my flight that are going to St. Andrews for the semester, and I seem to be far more on top of things that they are. But perhaps that is only because I seem to be having an easier time understanding the British people that are shuffling us through this airport.

Manchester Airport staff is very efficient. Upon our arrival, they had two people waiting, one to handle transfers and one for people who had reached their final destination. Diane, Phil and I were the only transfers, which made it easy enough for the people working, as we were all going to the same place. We were handed from person to person, with each walking or driving us exactly where we needed to go. All in all, it was highly efficient, although I appreciate this fact slightly less now that my flight is delayed due to weather and I have more time to sit around and struggle not to fall asleep. At least I can sit here and bask in one fact- everyone around me has an accent. I'm in love already.

I'm also slightly amused by the fact that even though it's not even 10am here, I'm highly tempted to go buy a drink. Why? Because I can.

However, since it would probably only aid in allowing my sleep deprivation to overcome me, I suppose I will wait until a more reasonable hour. For now I will simply eavesdrop subtly on the people around me and enjoy hearing them talk. I'm easy to amuse.