Saturday, June 16, 2012

A 36 Hour Day

Greetings,
We are now in the United States - for ten days! It was quite a journey to get here. After 36 hours from door-to-bed on Thursday, we are feeling much refreshed today. The campus here at Carleton is, of course, lush, fragrant, and beautiful. We are relishing the change of sights for the eyes, tastes for the tongue, and smells for the nose, and a return to - what is for us - a familiar culture. Wow. The boys were particularly excited with the morning breakfast buffet - bacon, fresh fruit, bacon, pastries. Did I mention bacon?

The phenomenon of travel never ceases to amaze. That we could depart Jeddah at 2 am on Thursday and arrive in Minneapolis some 30+ hours later on Thursday evening is pretty amazing - and confusing. We left our house at 10 pm on Wednesday night and arrived in the dorm room at Carleton a bit before 6 am (Jeddah time) on Friday morning. It's so confusing. You get in this weird mental 'travel mode' where you watch the movies on the plane and stand and walk around and try to sleep if
possible - and you avoid thinking about the time where you originated, the time at your destination, or how long the flight might take. When you arrive at the next airport, which - except in the case of the Jeddah airport - looks an awful lot like the last airport, you find your next gate, some good food and drink, and plunk down to wait for the next step in the journey. Again, trying to avoid too much thought. Last night I started to fall asleep and I was trying to recall our 36-hour day, but for the longest time I could literally not remember the time in Frankfurt. I finally did but it was vague and fuzzy. People here ask me what time is it in Jeddah, and I tell them I honestly don't know. I just try not to pay attention because if I immediately try to live like I am in this time zone, it helps a lot - plus no naps!

Jeddah to Frankfurt, wait three hours, eat, struggle to get confirmation on the next flight (finally did!), Frankfurt to Chicago. Tried to sleep. Watched three movies. Ate a bit. Stood and stretched in the back for a long time ... Arrived in Chicago just as flight was due to leave. Went through US Customs, collected bags, rechecked bags, got reconfirmed on a new flight three hours later (which was then an
hour late leaving), sat down to eat another, surprisingly good, meal - fresh salads, pizza, caprese, wine Airport food has really changed! Waited. Wandered. Waited. Wandered. Looked at books. Bought one for Logan. Finally, finally boarded airplane, finally left. I slept the entire 65 minutes until the flight was so rough I woke up. Arrived in Minneapolis. Collected bags. Found Carleton desk but shuttle bus was not due to leave for two hours. More waiting. More coffee and snacks at Starbucks. Waiting.
Waiting. Left. Arrived. Dark and rainy. Walked in the rain to the dorm. Made beds. Took showers. Collapsed. Barely able to function any longer. Boys did not - I mean, did NOT - complain one time! Incredible. As always, grateful to have arrived safely and with all bags.


We have attended reunion meals, chatted with former classmates of David's, run a 5k fun run, enjoyed the Reunion Convocation, which was stellar, and truly relaxed for the first time in a while. Vacation!


We head to Michigan on Sunday to visit David's parents, travel to Mackinac Island for a night, run in the incredible northern Michigan woods, and get Hayden set up at Interlochen Summer Camp. We will be there for a week.


Thanks for reading!
Jennifer

1 comment:

  1. Dear Jennifer,

    You bring back so many memories re air travel. Your guys are great travelers. That means a lot. Carleton College is quite an institution, as you know. See you soon in a state that has more lakes than Minnesota. Much love. Gordon

    ReplyDelete