22 December 2008 There’s No Place Like Home

I was really lucky because I got a ticket home the next day. I had about thirty minutes to pack and the taxi arrived in less than five minutes. I flew to Auckland, New Zealand and then caught a flight to Los Angeles. This trip takes almost thirteen hours and during the first three hours of the flight my DVD player kept stopping. The flight attendant tried several things to fix the DVD player but nothing seemed to work. Finally, she escorted me to a seat that had a working DVD player. The seat was in the first class section and it was very nice. The seat was much bigger, much softer, and it reclined out to make a sort of bed. Needless to say, the next ten hours were much more enjoyable.

I landed in Los Angeles and collected my luggage. I went through Customs and then headed for the counter to recheck my luggage for the remainder of my trip. I next flew to Atlanta, Georgia and finally I caught a flight to Norfolk, Virginia. I arrived in Norfolk after 11:00pm and discovered that my luggage had not been sent from Atlanta. I filled out the necessary paperwork and then headed home.

I got up the next morning and jumped in my car to go to work. Unfortunately, my car didn't start because it had sat there for over 6 weeks. I got someone to help me jumpstart the car and then I headed to school.

I walked into school and everything felt different and yet comfortable. Everyone was pleasantly surprised to see me and I have to admit that it felt good to be back. I spent the day talking about my trip and getting caught up on everything that had happened during my absence. I was tired but it was nice to be back.

I finally got my luggage back on Sunday. I ended up having to drive back out to the airport to pick it up myself. I don't want to bore you with the details but I was definitely glad to finally get my things back.

My school is on a holiday break for the next two weeks. This is going to give me a chance to process my experiences in Antarctica and get ready to go back to my life. I know that I am different and I realize that my life will be different. They say that going to Antarctica is a life-changing event. I know that it changed me and I know that it will change my life. I will take the next week or so to process everything and then I will let you know just how my life has been changed by this amazing experience.

It is really nice to be home but a part of me wishes that I was still in Antarctica. There is no place like home but there is also no place like Antarctica.