Stockholm – London, onward
My journey to Africa began with a first-class car ride to Arlanda, Stockholm. Emanuele played chauffeur with Christian’s car and I had two of the infamous tres españolas in tow. We arrived at the airport on time, a miraculous feat considering the Spanish - Canadian ratio was 2:1. The air was buzzing with anticipation as we tossed our bags on the scale. Some packed light, others remembered the kitchen sink, but in the end, we sneaked under the weight limit in spite of the tower of boxes that Jan jockeyed to the terminal. Needless to say, it was quite cold when we left Arlanda (read: foreshadowing). Take-off was annoyingly delayed by misplaced passengers and de-icing, but eventually we got on our way.
The airplane to London Heathrow was more an airbus. A few coursemates had taken an earlier flight and we expected to meet them for a bit of shopping and general dilly-dallying. No such luck, though, as we spent nearly an hour in the security queue. After a trans-airport bus ride and a near-sprint to the gate, we joined the others and boarded. Lina, Linda and I occupied the three seats of the middle row, to our delight but much to the chagrin of nearby passengers. I have only travelled by air a handful of times, so all of the little luxuries still seem rather novel to me. Headphones, check. Blanket and pillow, check. Socks?! I was also impressed by the entertainment offerings, which included films, shorts and a good variety of music (and supposedly more in first class, but I was satisfied). I was quite disappointed with The Brothers Grimm, but The Constant Gardener captivated me, especially on the verge of my first visit to Africa. I was moved to close to tears by the vivid images of poverty and the stoic but tragically helpless Kenyans the film portrayed (and, ahem, the wine). Sleep was elusive, but I managed.
Why so much science? What is this?
The airplane to London Heathrow was more an airbus. A few coursemates had taken an earlier flight and we expected to meet them for a bit of shopping and general dilly-dallying. No such luck, though, as we spent nearly an hour in the security queue. After a trans-airport bus ride and a near-sprint to the gate, we joined the others and boarded. Lina, Linda and I occupied the three seats of the middle row, to our delight but much to the chagrin of nearby passengers. I have only travelled by air a handful of times, so all of the little luxuries still seem rather novel to me. Headphones, check. Blanket and pillow, check. Socks?! I was also impressed by the entertainment offerings, which included films, shorts and a good variety of music (and supposedly more in first class, but I was satisfied). I was quite disappointed with The Brothers Grimm, but The Constant Gardener captivated me, especially on the verge of my first visit to Africa. I was moved to close to tears by the vivid images of poverty and the stoic but tragically helpless Kenyans the film portrayed (and, ahem, the wine). Sleep was elusive, but I managed.
Why so much science? What is this?
