Monday 6 June 2011

Leaving for Texas

It's been a loooong weekend, but I have arrived in Texas and begun to settle in.  Or perhaps a long week?  Because in reality, it began with a week of goodbyes.  Both family and friends.  (I'd add more pictures, but I didn't get a lot of great face shots)

Have I mentioned I hate goodbyes??  Yup, it doesn't really matter how much I travel, how many places I leave, I really HATE goodbyes.  (Just because I refuse to cry in front of people doesn't mean that it doesn't upset me!)

I actually finished packing on Friday, shocking everyone who knows me well and knows what a procrastinator I tend to be.  Aunts and Uncles and my good friend Laurie all came by to wish me well on Friday night.  Saturday morning, bright and early (okay, it was bright but NOT so early, closer to, um, noon) my parents and I set out in the car for Fargo.  We had to stop at the border for me to obtain an entry visa for my time in the US doing training.  It took about 30 mins all told, and I began to understand how patients in the hospital must feel as the border guard repeated the same questions over and over. In the end though, it was smooth and quite simple, with the visa only costing me 6$.

Once we arrived and checked in to the hotel, we were all starving, as we had had a late breakfast and no lunch.  Dad was getting towards grouchy and all the kids goofing around in the hallways and elevator of the hotel didn't help matters.  We went to Ihop (my choice, I wanted eggs), and once bellies were full everyone was in a better mood.
Bright and early (not yet bright, and so early it could be considered late into the night) at 4am we woke to the phone ringing (the wake-up call).  None of us was ready to eat at that time of the morning, and we made it to the airport in plenty of time for my 6am flight.
All my flights were smooth, and I arrived in Dallas Texas right on time, but my shuttle was late.  I ended up waiting almost 20mins after gathering my luggage, and was just beginning to contemplate other ways to get to the Mercy Ships Operations Center.   The shuttle driver finally showed up, a lovely 80year old man with a red plaid shirt and a lovely white beard, holding a small piece of paper with my name on it.
... more later, it's time for lunch!!

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