"America! America! God shed His grace on thee..."

Well, it's true... I gave in and decided to forego the European/London Christmas experience to spend $800 I don't have to fly back to the US. What helped me make this decision? I realized that Christmas = Family, and if I were all alone without my fam on this most important holiday, I think I just might be depressed. NO THANKS!

Soooo... Let me just say that I had a heck of a time trying to get everything done in order to come home... where do I even begin...

Being the brilliant person that I am, I booked my flight when I was in somewhat of a "I'm homesick and lonely" state. I therefore decided to leave BEFORE the due date of my final paper thinking... "Oh, I'll just finish it early..." Right... Geez... what was I thinking?! Then again, I also didn't realize that my tutor was going to tear a part my paper and make me start from scratch on the 5,000 word essay. Aaaaahhh...

I'd like to just say that I spent Tuesday night (my last night in London) re-writing my paper until 6:00 AM!!! By that point I still hadn't packed or done ANYTHING, and I was scheduled to leave for Heathrow at 1:00 PM. Hideous. I was able to finish everything though, and got to the airport in good time. By this point I hadn't eaten anything but figured I could grab a bite at the airport... Ummm... NO. There was nothing.... NOTHING! Not even a McDonald's!!! Oh, but there were 3 different coffee shops (Cafe Nero, Starbucks and Costas). How do people live off coffee?! I just don't understand... Anyway, I got one of those pre-made egg salad sandwiches (a dangerous thing to do indeed cuz they tend to be diarrhea-inducing), some crisps, and a lemonade. It was enough to carry me over to the rubbish airplane food that I actually ate and enjoyed... (disturbing!).

So this brings me to my flight...

Two words: NEVER AGAIN. Did you know that Delta specifically caters towards the "little and short-limbed people" of this world, cuz I sure didn't get the memo! My flight was awful, awful, AWFUL!!! Those of you who have flown with me know that I like to bend in half and sleep with my head and chest resting on my legs (doesn't seem comfortable, but believe me, it is). Well, twasn't possible people, and I was not happy! I couldn't straighten my legs out at all cuz they're too long and I just didn't know what to do with myself. Frustrating!

Moving on to my 10-hour layover at JFK in New York...

I landed in NY at 8:50PM and wasn't leaving until 6:50 the next morning. Problem is, Delta wouldn't let me check in earlier than 6 hours before my flight, and they were closing until 4AM the next morning. Here I was, thinking I could spend the 10-hours in the airport without my huge suitcase and be in more of a comfortable, safe place, but NO. I took the AirTrain to terminal 4 because it at least had some shops and places to eat, but it was seriously awful. I gathered all my crap, claimed a spot by a plug for my computer, and took a lil nap cuz I was so tired. Well, it was hard to actually sleep because people would periodically walk by and give me these horrifying stares/looks of disgust because I was like some homeless person lying on the ground. It was seriously disturbing! Then this security guy came up to me and told me that I couldn't be there and that I needed to move to this other area where peeople were lined up like sardines sleeping. Ummm... NO THANKS. So then I went to sit on this curved bench thing, hooked one arm through my backpack, another arm through my Prada bag, held on to my luggage with one hand, and attempted to sleep... Need I say more?

I finally got on my next plane, and flew in to Salt Lake City, UT. I seriously gasped at how beautiful the mountains looked from above. WOW. Utah is such a beautiful place, and I've really missed it.

Well, that's enough for now, but I still have to update you all on the rest of London from Thanksgiving up to leaving for the holidays! I will gradually update you over the next few posts...