May 2008

So I'm back from London, which is an absolutely amazing city. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it surpassed anything I could have thought of (totally unlike New York City, I have to say). I've always heard that British people are aloof, but the people in London were extremely friendly, talkative, and warm. It was a nice surprise. Whenever we had a question or looked lost, there was someone who stopped to help us out. So lovely.

The first day, we arrived and we were able to check into our hotel-apartment. For those North Americans who haven't heard of this, it's a furnished apartment that is rented out like a hotel. I'd not heard of it before this year, but I know Miranda has, and they seem to be fairly common across Europe. It's like a hotel suite, I suppose, but they're called apartments (even in London, not flats). We had lunch there, then wandered around London in the general direction of the Strand, where we were going to a show that evening. We did some shopping, had dinner at a fabulous Italian restaurant and then went to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat. It was fantastic! I'd seen an amateur production when I was a teenager (I think, sometime around then anyway) but didn't remember much from it. This was a lot of fun, very witty and intelligent, but also great for kids. There was a BBC reality show recently with Andrew Lloyd Weber in which they searched for a new Joseph. The actor we saw, Lee Mead, was the winner of this competition. He was extremely good and fit the role perfectly. Cute, too!

Wednesday we did a bus and a boat tour, which was great. We got to see a lot of things we'd never see in one day on foot, like the palace, the tower of London (I thought it was just a tower - I was so wrong!), the tower bridge, etc. It was good, and the bus was a double decker, so we got to sit up top. That evening we stayed in (I caught a cold, so I had limited energy by the end of the day). Thursday we went to the British Museum to show Maddie the Egyptian museum. She's very interested in ancient Egypt because of Joseph. We did some brass rubbings at St. Martin's on the Field, which was cool. Then we found the original Twinning's tea shop, which was the only disappointing thing about the whole trip. I was expecting a really interesting store, with a huge and varied selection, and shop people who knew everything about tea. Nope! It was small, with a very limited selection (especially in black teas, which is so weird) and the woman had no idea about what the difference between the teas.

We arrived back in the Netherlands on time, despite heavy air traffic over Belgium that threatened to delay us. We were all tired, but we had a great time. I am so impressed with London. I don't think I'd live there, because it's extremely busy (not to mention expensive - Edinburgh is still my number one choice) but I'd definitely go back to visit. I didn't get to have my picture taken with one of the palace guards, so I have at least one more thing I'd like to go do there. (Oh yeah, the weather was beautiful the whole time, too. Sunny and warm every day.)

Pictures coming soon!

By tomorrow, I will have been here for a full week and I am well and truly over my jet lag, except for a tendency not to get tired when I normally go to bed. But I can sleep through the night, which is a welcome relief for 2 hours of insomnia in the wee hours of the morning.

Yesterday we had a birthday party for the twins at a local park with a small club house. It was more of a thank-you hosted by Eowyn and Dave for all the help and gifts they've received over the last year. Obviously, the twins won't remember it, and probably didn't care either way. It was a lot of fun, and about 70 people (kids and adults) showed up. Most of the people they know have kids, it's part of how you meet people in the expat community here, I guess! it makes me think how nicely diverse my group of friends is: some married, some with older kids, some with new kids, some with no kids, some single. It's a good mix.

I haven't done many excursions, being bound to the schedules of 2 one-year-olds and a five-year-old in school. But I try and take the twins for a walk at least once a day, and wander around the neighbourhood and see new parks and walk along the canals. The canals here aren't as large as they are in Amsterdam and are often inserted by roads (with culverts connecting them rather than having bridges over them).

Tomorrow I get up bright and early and head back to Schipol in Amsterdam to fly with Eowyn and Maddie to London for a couple of days! We have a full schedule, including going to a production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat" (which I have seen, but it was an amateur production, and this is not), a visit to the British Museum, some markets and a bus tour. Probably a meal in a pub, too! I've never been to London, so I'm really looking forward to it. It will be the oldest city I've ever been to; it was founded by the Romans in AD 43, and lasted until AD 50 when it was burned down by the Iceni (a Celtic tribe). Although 2000 years is pretty recent by the standards of my field, it is still old for a northern European city, and certainly much older than I'm used to. The city of Edmonton, where I was living before NJ celebrated 100 years in 2004.

I will be sure to take pictures, and I will be adding pictures from the Netherlands very soon!

I am also planning a day trip into France with Eowyn before I leave for Kenya and a day trip into Belgium by myself.

I arrived in Europe on Tuesday, at 6:15 am local time, after a very long, uneventful flight (which is better than an eventful flight). A tip to anyone traveling from Newark: don't hire the baggage guys to help you with your luggage. Although a baggage cart costs just about a much and is much harder to find, the search would be worth it. (Newark charges for its baggage carts, which is unusual I think). Anyway, the guy helping me with my luggage got in a fight with another passenger, then kept wandering off while I was in line waiting for my baggage tags. I don't get the new airport system, either, where they have 2 people doing baggage tags for 5 lines, and then make you take your bags to the scanner rather than putting them on the belt themselves.

It's the middle of the night here, which I am seeing thanks to jet lag! I was hoping to avoid it for the most part, because I only slept for an hour on the plane, but my body still thinks it's 10 pm, not 4 am.

Yesterday was the twin's first birthday, which was fun. Dave is away in England on business, so Eowyn had a family friend and her young daughter over for cake, and they are having a bigger party on Sunday, more as a thank you for everyone who has helped out over the past year rather than for the babies, who won't remember anything and probably don't care. They had cake yesterday for the first time. Max loved it, because he loves everything, and Kate was unimpressed, but is a much pickier eater than her brother. They got some clothing from me and some toys from Eowyn's friend.

Well, I have a battery warning on my computer which means digging out the adapter later today, but for now, I am signing off before my computer powers down.

I am leaving for the Netherlands today, in the afternoon, although I'm eyeing the rain outside and wondering if Newark will delay my flight. I think departing international flights have priority, but Newark loves delaying flights and will do so for the slightest reason, such as "there's a small breeze, let's call it a strong wind and delay all the flights!" The later in the day, the worse it is, and my flight is at 4:15 pm. When I went to Europe in December, my flight was also delayed, but for engine repair, which is justifiable. I'd rather be late arriving than late period.

By the way, yes, that is passports plural. I tried to check in on northwest's website using my Canadian passport and I was denied! I had to use my American passport (I'm a dual citizen, for anyone reading this who may not know). I always travel internationally on my Canadian passport. It is easier. Sad but true. One of my cohorts suggested finding out at the airport in Nairobi if it's cheaper to get a visa using the Canadian passport. I will take advantage of whatever perks come along with being a dual citizen. Having the American passport makes it easier to re-enter the US, unless I have cheese, which American customs official seem to really hate for some reason.

I am pretty nervous about leaving - I've been away from home longer than this before, but never to do anything quite so important to my career! And last time I was away for a summer, I dislocated my ankle. Let's all hope nothing like that happens this time! I am looking forward to arriving in the Netherlands and putting the flight (at least the first one) behind me. I hate flying - I'm not afraid of it, but it's so tedious. The whole thing. Checking in, going through security (especially here - why do I need to take my shoes off?), waiting for the plane (being delayed), and then the actual flight. I don't like sitting for that long. At least it's an overnight flight, so I can hopefully get some sleep.

And then: babies! I am visiting my sister and brother-in-law in the Netherlands for 4 weeks. They have a 5-year-old daughter and 1-year-old twins (a boy and a girl). So this will be a working vacation, too, just not school work. Eowyn (my sister) and I are taking my older niece (Maddie) to London for a couple of days while I'm there, too. And abandoning Dave (my brother-in-law) with the twins, although I think he's done it before. I think they are also planning some nights out while I'm there, because they have a built-in babysitter and I do love taking care of the kids.

Right now, I'm just waiting for a load of laundry to be done, then I'll be officially finished the packing. I'm a bit worried my checked baggage will be over the weight limit. I tried to weigh it, but my scale is broken and I think 10 pounds off, so while I think I'm okay, I'm not sure. Did any of the Canadians notice if luggage restrictions are being lowered on domestic Canadian flights? Here, on international flights, we can still have 2 checked bags, but on domestic flights, only 1. That might make traveling back to Canada for Christmas tricky, but that's months from now. Anyway, the people in first class get 3 bags, which seems lame to me. I know they are paying a ridiculous amount of money, but come on. 3 bags per person for 10 people, and one bag per person for everyone else? How about just 2 bags for everyone? Makes way more sense to me. What is it with airlines lately that they seem to hate their customers?

All right, that's about it. Next entry will be from Europe. Wish me luck getting out on time.

Today I got more money from the university in the form of a $700 grant cheque from the dean of the graduate school, Harvey Waterman (thank you, Dr. Waterman!). This helped me cover some of my travel related expenses, most notably the vaccinations and medications that I need to go to Kenya. I feel like I walking drug store inside my own body, having had five separate injections since February (this doesn't count the ones I already had, like tetnus and meningitis) and a TB skin test (I don't have TB - big surprise). I also have anti-malarials, anti-biotics, and just about ever over-the-counter medication you can think of to come with me. It's daunting, since the only other places I've traveled have been within Canada, the US, and western Europe. I needed no vaccines to go to any of these places. It feels strange to go to a country where there is so much risk.

All of my drugs and I are pretty much packed to go, at least in terms of field supplies. I still have to pack clothing for Europe, but that will only be a small suitcase that I can take onto the plane with me. I am a bit concerned right now about how much stuff I will have to manage on the return flight. I know my action packer (a heavy-duty Rubbermaid container) will be much emptier on the way back, since all the food I've packed will be eaten and most of the clothes and some equipment I can leave in storage in Nairobi with the rest of the field school stuff, but my problem is that I'm flying into JFK on the way back, which is in New York City, not into Newark. That means I have to negociate the from the airport to Penn Station with an action packer, a hiking packback, a regular backpack and a small suitcase. Good times all around. At Penn station, I have to go down stairs to get to the train platform from the NJ transit holding area (this is where they keep everyone from New Jersey, to separate us from normal people). I probably shouldn't be thinking of this over 3 months in advance, but I am anyway. I was just going to say I've never been away this long in the summer, but that's not true; I was away for 4 months when I worked for Landsong (the summer I dislocated my ankle, which I know most of you remember!) Still, this is different, because I will be on two different continents.

Here's hoping the suitcase situation works out on the way back.