The Arrival

After eating a meal of fish, bread, corn pudding, and a caramel dessert, I was ready to relax on my 16 ½ hour flight from Texas to Brisbane, Australia. I sipped on my hot tea (a staple in Australian culture) and flipped through the available T.V. shows and movies on the flat screen on the back of the seat in front of me. The plane was large, two stories, and seemingly absent of any crying babies (sigh of relief). However, as the journey progressed, a cry rang out. Darnit, I miscalculated. An uncomfortable toddler was in a seat in the aisle across from mine.

I quickly searched for some entertainment to drown out the noise. Family guy? Nope, I’d already seen all of those episodes. Maybe movies? MacKendall was already zoned out to Happy Feet 2 and suggested I watch that. Eh, no thanks. King’s Speech? Perfect.

The rest was a blur. I woke up every couple hours, clicking on any movie I could sleep to until breakfast rolled around. There was no need for a wake up call. The heavenly smell of bacon practically pulled my eyelids open. I was wide awake and awaiting the food.

After we landed and cleared customs, we stood at the baggage claim. Then, our names were announced over the speaker system. Yes…our luggage was not in the Brisbane airport, but rather arriving the next afternoon.

I tried not to be disappointed, even though my first day of school was the next morning and I had been wearing the same clothes since we left on Friday (ick). They gave us a small airline care package to hold us over, some money, and sent us on our way. As our luggage was loaded into the bus taxi, I let the sun envelope my skin. The warmth from the sun instantly eased my worries and relaxed my tensed body (that endured a full 20 hours of flying).

This is where my adventure began.