The Journey

As promised, though without much rest, I wish to fill everyone (which as of right now means all three followers) in on the details of my journey from Mattoon, IL to Grantham, UK.
I took the Amtrak out of Mattoon on Tuesday morning. It was scheduled to dock and depart by 9:30 a.m. As my fellow local cohort Luke Kingery stood by, we waited for a freight train to move out of the way. Finally, around 10:10 a.m. our train came in. We boarded and were on our way.
We were originally scheduled to get in to Chicago around 1 p.m. We didn't get off the train until 2 p.m. Much to both Luke and my disappointment, we skipped out on a good Chicago meal and ran down a cab. I jumped in and told the man we needed to get to O'Hare as quickly as possible. Our flight was scheduled to depart a little after 5 p.m. but with security on an international flight, we were told to arrive at 1:30. Fortunately, we arrived at 2:30 and with more than enough time to check baggage, grab a bite to eat, and get through security, all with about an hour to spare (I was the only person who didn't have to check luggage, not so sure a good thing though).
Before we knew it, our flight was called to board and we were off for a six hour plane ride across the Atlantic. Going into this whole trip, I have to admit, I was a little nervous about the flight, especially the minor combination of turbulence and flying over the ocean. However, to my delight, we experienced very little in the way of turbulence. In actuality, the flight was better than one I had taken to Denver a year and a half prior and it was only about an hour and a half. I had chicken curry for dinner, some wine, and a cranberry orange muffin for breakfast. While most of my time was spent reading Pride and Prejudice (required for my program), I managed to watch Tron and before I knew it, we were flying over Ireland and soon after Great Britain.
We arrived at Heathrow and had to go through customs. After a small waiting period and brief interview about our stay, we were through the gates and officially welcomed into the UK.
Our shuttle was running behind and as a result left us with about 40 minutes to wander the airport. Most of us went to a cafe and grabbed some breakfast. One Americano and lemon poppyseed muffin later, I boarded our shuttle along with our group and began our final transport to Harlaxton.
Though I slept most of the way there, I awoke just in time for the campus, landscape and all, to befall me. I cannot begin to describe the absolute magnificence of the manor and its estate. Built in the middle of the 19th century, the manor has been redone once since its original founding. I was in awe, though in a fairly sleepish awe.
We were told to grab our room assignments and then make our way to them. After doing so, I grabbed lunch, some loin quiche, boiled potatoes, and chicken noodle soup. Afterwards, I unpacked my clothing and then made my way to the Morning Room for our orientational meeting. Soon after learning a little more about the campus and the rules and regulations associated with our stay, I wandered back up to my room and crashed. I was so tired I slept through dinner. The day didn't end there though. Unfortunately, here it is almost 1 a.m. (which means almost 7 p.m. there) and I have class in 8 hours. I will continue the rest of today's little adventure as soon as I get a chance. Until again,

Thank you,

Keith