The Journey

The journey began at the new Indianapolis International Airport, which is quite nice btw. Here are a few pictures that I took while waiting at my gate:

I really like those window murals. Anyways, my flight from Indy to Detroit ended up getting delayed an hour, which meant I was in for some fun when I got to Detroit. We got to Detroit a little ahead of schedule, but we waited for our gate for 10 minutes out on the tarmac. Once we got to the gate I was now left with 20 minutes to make it to my flight, which had already been bording for the past 30 minutes. I literally ran from one side of the airport to the other and arrived at my gate with 5 minutes left before the scheduled takeoff time. The women working the desk at the gate knew my name before I even said a word, surely because I was the last passenger to check in. Thankfully they let me right on and I didn't miss my connection.

The flight from Detroit to Amsterdam wasn't too bad, it was about 7:30. The food on the flight was above average and the in-flight movies weren't bad either. I watched Eagle Eye, which I'd seen before, and Miracle at St. Anna, which was just so-so. I also slept for about 1:30. We got to Amsterdam on time and I went straight to my next gate, not wanting to tempt fate.

After a quick flight to Manchester I was finished with the plane portion of the journey and it was now time to switch to a train. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the train I needed went all the way to the airport, so I didn't have to catch a taxi to the train station. The train ride from Manchester to Lancaster was about 1:15. I meant to take more pictures on the train ride, but I only snapped these three:

Upon arriving at Lancaster I then switched to my third form of transportation for the day: bus. I boarded the bus to the university and thankfully the bus driver was willing to accept my US dollars as I hadn't had a chance to change my money into Pounds. During bus ride to the university the bus driver shared a number of tips with me, which was really nice of him. Fifteen minutes later the bus pulled up to the university!!

I HAD FINALLY ARRIVED!!!!!!!!

I took the stairs from the bus stop up to Alexandra Square, which is the heart of campus. As soon as I stepped foot in the square I suddenly had one of those "Oh Shit!" moments. I realized I had no idea where to go now or who to talk to to get my accommodation. After a few minutes of internal panic I was able to muster a pair and get moving. I roamed around aimlessly for a while waiting for something to magically give me point the way, but that was fruitless. I finally stumbled into the student travel shop and asked for directions. They kindly pointed me in the right direction and away I went to the Accommodation Office.

When I got to the Accommodation Office the lady there helped me get everything sorted out. There was a brief moment where it was uncertain if I would be able to get my room that day or if I would have to wait because the woman in charge of my college was out sick for the day, but thankfully the college porter was on duty and he was able to let me in. After getting my keys and bedding pack I made my way to my flat. I bet I was funny to watch as I fumbled around with my 100+ lbs. of luggage in tow, which constantly fell over.

I arrived at my building and ascended the stairs to the third floor, dieing to put my bags down once and for all. Stepping into my flat, I experienced what was without a doubt the loneliest moment of my life. It suddenly hit me that I was alone, no friends, no one in 1000 miles who even knew my name. I laid down my bags and sat down on the bed trying to gather myself. A few minutes later I started to unpack my stuff and make up my bed. With my bags somewhat unpacked and my bed made I went in search of lunch. I retraced my steps to Alexandra Square and from there I just picked a direction and started walking. My first stop ended up being a grocery store and I wasn't in the mood to make any food so I moved on to the next stop, which sold some quick to-go food. I got a bowl of soup and went back to my room, because the store had no seating. I devoured the soup and crashed at 2pm, which was a mistake. I woke up again at 10pm with nothing to do since the Internet in my room hadn't been set up yet. I laid back down again and after an hour or so I drifted of to sleep for another 12 hours.