Travelling... Part One. (Sunday 16th Feb 2014)

Dear Sal,

I don't really know where the morning went. It was all a blur of packing, phone calls and final goodbyes. It felt more like we were going on holiday for a week or two rather than leaving the country for a year. In the last minute rush, we forgot to take a few cards and gifts people had kindly given us that I wish we could have kept.
 

The cramped car journey to Heathrow went by quickly. My parents sat in the front, while me, David and Charlotte sat in the back playing the spotting game. You know the one, where you spot things. David won with bridges. We arrived over four hours before our departure, and the gate wasn't due to open for another hour, so we had a coffee. Graham wanted to leave immediately, he did have a dog to walk after all. He seemed distant, maybe that's his coping mechanism, but I found him cold.

I'm more then grateful to my parents for everything they've done for us over the last six months and without them, this wouldn't have been possible. They kindly paid for our extra baggage, and I'm not talking a couple of Kg. The airlines website that we used was translated from Korean, and it wasn't translated well. What we read as twenty kg max for each bag, was actually twenty kg max for all bags. We were over by twenty two kg. I don't know what we would have done without them.

 

Saying goodbye to my parents was hard. Saying goodbye to Charlotte was just painful. In one close hug and no words it hit me. I wouldn't be seeing her or any one of my family and friends in over a year. Then I finally broke. 

 

The heartfelt goodbye was somewhat detracted by their swift return after failing to find the car park pay point. They left shortly after and we made our way to the security check. I sailed through after emptying the content of my bag. David didn't, and was felt up by a random man, normally an acceptable experience but at the airport it just feels like we're being dehumanised. I was only allowed to take one lighter through with me. I chose the Zippo Lily brought me in Vietnam. It was empty, while the others were full. Now that's love.

 

My last meal in England was a full English breakfast, how fitting. I thought of you and the countless breakfasts we've shared as I reluctantly ate, despite nerves. I watched Despicable Me 2 on the plane, ate about half my meal and fell asleep, I must be getting old. The eleven hours flew by. Before we knew it, we were filling in our arrival slips. It looked odd to see three hundred and sixty five in the number of days you're staying box.

Walking off the plane, you're hit by this smell that is difficult to describe, but it put me strangely at ease. Any fears I've had in the past few weeks evaporated instantly. It has taken us a bloody long time to get here, but we've finally made it.

Love, hugs and  an optimistic tired smile,  

Samuel James.