Up In the Air

Carolyn and I had great plans to write our “pre-departure” blog post together; however, to no one’s surprise, time got away from us. Instead, I find myself in the last hour of our red-eye flight watching the sunrise while writing what is now my “pre-arrival” post (how’s that for last minute!?).
For the past week and a half, packing has been the cause of stress, anxiety, and concern in my life. But does that surprise anyone? The mission: pack two and a half seasons of clothes, including normal clothes, going-out clothes, and work clothes for my 9-week internship at JPMorgan, into two 23kg (51lb) duffels and one carry-on weighing 6kg (13lb). Fun fact: Did you know Hunters weight 3.5lb? These are the things you learn while trying to cram your life for almost four months into two duffels. My mom proved to be my best fashion editor, flat out telling me, “That’s a waste of space, “ or “That’s very London!”. As the packing progressed, intermittent weigh-ins proved as a wake-up call. Naturally, as the scale reached closer and closer to 50lb, I reached for more and more clothes, convinced they didn’t weigh “that much”. The two pairs of boots I ordered on Thursday and had over-nighted didn’t help much either. My carry-on was a different story. Thirteen pounds? I knew there was no way that would happen; my laptop alone weighs 9 pounds! Thankfully, they didn’t end up weighing it (I was prepared to give my sob-story if they did). As for my duffels weigh-in: 22.6kg and 23.0kg on the dot. All the check-in guy said to me was “Lucky.” Then, after a few seconds of silence looked at me amazed and asked, “How did you do that?” My response: “I have no idea.” Already I’m starting to stress about how I’m going to bring it all back home… in addition to my future purchases, of course! I also just remembered I left a bag of some things with Mrs. Toll to bring over in a couple of weeks… woops. 
After a smooth check-in (minus the major traffic on the Whitestone), we said our goodbyes and were well on our way for the adventure of a lifetime. We left JFK at 7:30PM and will arrive at Heathrow at 7:30AM. I didn’t sleep a single minute, so today should be interesting. Carolyn is five rows back in a middle seat (I am SO sorry), but at least she doesn’t have “that guy” in front of her who somehow manages to push his seat back farther than humanly possible. No worries, I have that good fortune. The flight attendant just announced we are in the last 45 minutes of our flight; I can’t believe this day is finally here! After over six months of coordinating, approvals, planning, and anticipation, it’s actually happening: 15 weeks in London with my best friend. It is sure to be an “emotional rollercoaster”, as Carolyn and I have both been debriefed by our advisors, but it is also sure to be a once in a lifetime experience. It only seems appropriate I end this in the words of Estelle and Kanye…”Just touched down in Londontown!”
- LC