I'm Back!

I've made it back to Gainesville safe and sound, although I had a bit of difficulty along the way. When I left Monkey's parents' house it was a little overcast but otherwise fine outside, so I didn't anticipate that there would be any travel delays. Unfortunately, there were some pockets of thunderstorm activity over the south and as a consequence the airline informed us (just as we'd started boarding the plane I might add) that we were going to be delayed an hour. We waited around for about 20 minutes before the airline reps made a hasty announcement calling us all back to board immediately--they'd found an alternate air route and we were going to take it. So, we all scurried back to the gate and got on the plane. We'd made it to the runway when all of a sudden we stop. Completely. We're just sitting there waiting. And waiting. Finally the pilot tells us that air traffic control wants us to take yet another flying route, but this one is going to be a longer flight. Thus, those with connections in Charlotte, NC are probably going to miss their flights. And of course, the flight I was supposed to connect with was the last one out to Florida for the night. So they start turning the plane around to go back to the gate in order for those passengers with connections to get off so they can catch the first flight the next morning if they want.

At this point, I'm in a bit of quandry. Should I get off and call Monkey's folks to have them come pick me up? Being the moron that I am, I didn't actually have their home phone number on me. Just Monkey's cell, but by then she was already back out in Cali.

The pilot then comes over the airwaves once again to inform us that apparently all flights leaving the Manchester, NH airport the next day are booked solid all the way through late afternoon. Thus, we'd have to take a chance hanging aroudnd airport for standby seats. Not a fun prospect.

Finally, I decided to take a chance and continue on to Charlotte in the hopes of being able to make my flight. Sadly, luck was not on my side. I got off the plane and ran like a crazy lady to my connection gate but the plane had just left. Which means, I was stuck in Charlotte at 9:30 at night and the next flight home wasn't until 9:30am. And of course, the airline would not pay to put me up in a hotel because the delay was caused by weather. So I contemplated renting a car to drive home, but when I called my friend Joanna she talked me out of it. The drive would be at least six hours and I'm not much of a long distance driver. For some reason, cars knock me out. I start feeling sleepy after about two-three hours behind the wheel.

In the end I was able to get a room at one of the airport hotels at a discounted rate for interrupted travel, but it still cost $60. At present I have about $500 in my bank account and I won't get my first paycheck for summer teaching until almost the end of July. Talk about sucky! What was worse, actually, was the fact that I couldn't pick up my suitcase. The airport holds them overnight so they can send them on the first flight the following day if they didn't make the last connection. So I had to wear the same clothes (ugh) and I had no toothbrush or toothpaste (yuck!). The hotel people had some toothpaste packets but no brushes. So I had to make do with the finger brushing method. It helped somewhat. At least I didn't have to leave the next morning with completely fetid breath.

I made it back to Gainesville the next morning and just had time to grab lunch, a shower, and then head off to teach my class. I hope my students didn't think I was too weird, because I'm sure I was a bit loopy from all my traveling travails.

But at least the trip itself was fabulous! I had a great time at Monkey's sister's wedding. The ceremony was really beautiful and I admit that I got a bit misty eyed once or twice because Shweens looked so happy (not to mention absolutely gorgeous in her wedding sari). Afterwards, I made liberal use of the open bar and found myself quite pleasantly drunk well before dinner. During the cocktail hour I wandered around oohing and ahhing over the multitude of bright and beautiful saris as well as the all out blinginess of Indian jewelry. Monkey's earrings kept drawing my eye like I was some crazy human magpie honing in on the bright and shiny object in front of me. I think she was mightily amused and has promised to get me a similar pair on her next visit to India (yay!).

The dinner was so scrumptuous that I actually briefly fantasized about how great it would be to have two stomachs so I could do real justice to the buffet. Not only was the food delicious, but the majority of it was also vegetarian. Indian food is often a vegetarian's personal food heaven because there is so much variety and flavor. A lot of American veggie cuisine can run towards bland and boring.

It was really lovely being able to spend time with Monkey and her family again. I also met some of her extended family and they were all incredibly kind and welcoming to me. At home they also fed me all kinds of delicious food, including some regional Indian dishes I'd never had before. I really loved this because I can't get any decent Indian food here in Gainesville, so my tummy was doing the happy dance all weekend as I gorged on homemade cuisine.

Although I missed Shweens' mehndi party, one of her relatives is a graphic artist and she offered to create a henna design on my hand after the fact. It turned out beautifully but is now, sadly, starting to fade. But I will be looking forward to getting one again when Monkey gets married someday.