My city is beautiful.

This place is amazing. It's Ankh-Morpork and Diagon Alley rolled into one. It's...fantastic.

My flights were not quite so great, but only in places:

<<20 January - 15.26 EST

Great. We're at code 'Orange,' too. And they interrupted 'Maybe I'm Amazed' to tell us so. This part of the travelling fiasco is boring and irksome and uncomfortable. In the immortal words of Inego Montoya, 'I hate waiting.'

I said goodbye to Mum and Dad at the security gate, and there was a bit of crying (in the good and bad way). My sister and her boyfriend got off easy; it still hadn't hit me, but now that's everyone, and it's more than a little frightening. I'll make it all right, but this part is the worst part. No old friends to talk with, no new friends to look forward to quite yet...oi. I miss you guys!

The good news is that I'm tired, so I may get to sleep a bit on the plane. Unfortunately, my plane is also running half an hour late. This is worrisome as I only have an hour and fifteen minutes between flights. The next terminal will be interesting.

Now to read and join the twenty-some people surrounding me in pretending we do not notice each other. Woo hoo! >>

I ended up riding with a young couple and their 16-month-old son whom I decided to call Brandon. (His real name, it turns out was Landon. I was surprised.) Anyway, he was adorable and kept making very interested and polite noises the whole time (the only unpleasant ones between the beginning of take-off and about two minutes into take-off when he became enthralled with the headseats).

Alas, in Chicago, we had to say farewell, and I had to run to my terminal at the ticketman's express direction. Security disagreed. That was fun.

There were about six of us arriving late, but they got us all on the plane. In fact, we had very few passengers on the plane. One bloke spread out across the entire middle section to sleep. I had a window and aisle seat to myself and was able to keep track of our flight and watch my in-flight entertainment at the same time. (Hurrah, The Darjeeling Limited, Michael Palin and G.O.B. on 30 Rock for three minutes!)

When I finally settled down enough to sleep, the small child three rows ahead took it upon herself to start screaming as though Stalin had been named her new nanny. To calm her, her mother offered her a Dora the Explorer touch and hear book. The next two hours were unpleasant.

I did get about and hour and a half's worth of sleep, though, and was able to freak out another five times before landing in Manchester at 7.30 GMT where I met a rather boisterous man who was already pissed. AT 7.30 IN THE MORNING. Anyway, immigration was a breeze, as was avoiding the drunk man, and I got on the train, found a taxi and arrived at school.

This place is incredible. I had quite a time getting over jet lag and am still fighting it, but the nice ladies who clean here heard that I was tired, and by the time I got back from buying an alarm clock, my bed was made and ready for an unconcious person. I applied and was offered a position immediately.