Hey guys,
First, I'd like to give a shout out to all of my friends who have been there for me, consoling me on my inability to get a flight back to New York. For those who don't really understand what the hell is going on here is a synopsis:
There was approximately 5 inches of snow at Heathrow airport on December 18th, my birthday. Everyone at Manson 15 had a fun day with a snow ball fight and drinking games expecting to still be able to leave the next day. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Heathrow airport was crippled by the mere 5 inches and shut down the whole airport on Saturday. Entire terminals stayed shut and people who were there on a layover or who needed to leave were stuck and had to spend the night. On Sunday, only 16 flights left the airport and I, along with 9 of my other roommates, weren't on them. Only 2, Jill and Joe, got out who were on the same flight. Somehow they didn't even have a delay.
The rest of us were in a complete panic, and most of us were on hold with airlines and travel agents for at least 3 hours trying to find a new flight. My roommate, Cierra, went to the airport and paid 40 pounds (about 70 dollars) for a cab only to find out her flight had been cancelled. The only thing the airline said was "sorry" and handed her a sheet of paper with a phone number on it that charged per minute to call. Most of the house was crying, screaming or panicking, not knowing when they would get home. I was able to get a flight out on Wednesday, but my other roommates got flights on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
The rest of the afternoon was a complete blur. I fell back to sleep at around 8 am and woke up at 12:30 PM to assess the damage done by Heathrow. We were all distraught and just hypothesizing why all the flights were cancelled and how the hell everything was shut because of snow that happened the previous afternoon.
I decided, after much stressing, that the best thing I could do was buy a 12 pack of Corona, some Magners Hard Cider and curl up with my laptop checking Heathrow's website, British Airway's website, Facebook, while watching 24 on Netflix. Writing it out is very weird because not much happened but it has to be one of the longest days of my life.
Today was even worse. One of my roommates and my friend Alyssia both had their flights cancelled. Alyssia is now on my flight for Wednesday after being on hold for 4 hours, and Dennis is now first flying to Dublin before flying back to the states.
You would think that after 72 hours Heathrow would be up and running. You would be very wrong. On a daily basis, British Airways has 12 flights that leave for JFK. Today 6 out of 12 left, but tomorrow only 4 out of 12 are currently scheduled to depart. I leave Wednesday with that exact route. I am praying that somehow they will get my flight out but there is a very good chance it will be cancelled.
If my flight on Wednesday is cancelled, I will be spending Christmas away from my family after not being in New York for 4 months. My first reaction is to cry and drink heavily, but it is completely out of my control. There is no looking back, thinking that I should have booked an earlier ticket. No amount of panicking or crying is going to change what will happen to me over the course of 48 hours.
Never in my life have I felt this stranded. Sure, I've lived here for 4 months and I like London, but having home be so close and have it ripped out of my grasp is extremely painful and horrible especially during the holidays. Normally, I'd be at home with my friends joking around about how crazy my family is and the chaos that will ensue on Christmas. Now, it's everything that I crave. I would much rather be on my Dad's house sipping a Becks with my dog Cody curled at my feet while listening to country music, watching the fire. I wouldn't even mind being woken up at 7 am by my dad blasting banjo music in my ear, or even him opening my door while playing the Banjo (he is a very talented man. he can multitask).
Everything I took for granted I am now realizing is extremely important to me. No matter how crazy your family is, no matter the drama that is going to happen Christmas day, I want every single person reading my blog to realize how lucky you are to have a family to go to. To have people you care about surrounding you, whether it be your mom and dad or great friends who console you when you can't be around your family anymore.
I want my friends at home to know how much I love them and care about them. I want my family to know I love them and miss them more than anything in the world and I will do anything in my power to get to the states as soon as physically possible. Traveling the world has been one of the best experiences I will ever have, but it is nothing compared to being with friends and family.
I'll update my blog as soon as I know whether or not I will make it home on Wednesday.
Lots and lots of love,
Miriam
xxx