So, it hasn't been all that bad - actually, very world-travelesque-exciting. From NYC to Montreal to London to Casablanca. The best thing yet has been this sign in London.After I last wrote y'all, I updated my ticket (having to pay a $80 "no-show" fee and an $80 change fee) and left today for Casablanca at 6 p.m. That is where I am now - I fly to Douala at 6 p.m. tomorrow - and since I have about a 19 hour layover here, Royal Air Maroc set me up in a place in downtown (which happens to have internet access and American movies).
Yesterday morning, unknowingly calling before 6 a.m., I contacted an old friend - Markus Wirtz who was
an exchange student at NLRHS for a semester. He is from Germany and I actually ran into him last in Buenos Aires almost two years ago. Ironically, both of these meetings occurred because of the technology of Facebook - he messaged me after seeing I was in BsAs and I just looked up my friends in London, he was one, and I called him.
Congratulations to him as well for his upcoming marriage to his Mexican sweatheart (who he met in BsAs) and for their move to Madrid in September when he starts the 2nd year of his master's business program.
After talking to Markus, I checked my baggage in for the day, rode into town on the Tube and took a nap in Green Park for three hours (anyone could have taken my backpack and computer bag because I was knocked out from having tried to sleep in the Montreal and London airports the two previous nights). After the nap I met Markus at his work and got a coffee. He let me borrow his keys and his flat for the afternoon to shower and then I took Flat Arkansas and Flat Cameroon on a tour of London until I met up with Markus again for dinner. Both Flats tried to head to Hogwarts but I told them they could go in August when we return to Platform 9 and 3/4. You can see the photos of all the places we visited. After dinner, Markus and I headed back to his flat and hit the sack.
I woke up at 5:30 this morning to walk with Markus (he was flying to Munich to visit his brother) and he sent me to Hempstead where I walked around. I then caught a bus to Trafalgar Square and walked around most of central London (reading, shopping at Lush, and eating lunch at a terrible and expensive restaurant) until leaving for Heathrow at 2:30 p.m. On the way to the airport I met another American who had been in Cameroon during the Fall - her name was Sara and she was from D.C. and went to school at Pomona.After catching my plane, I sat next to Taiser and Morris (both Syrians who have lived in London for over 20 years). They were two wild and crazy guys - they gave me their numbers and said to call them when I got back to London. Then at Muhammad V airport in Casablanca I checked
in for my next flight but since it was so far away they sent me to get a free hotel for the night. So here I am now, after a ride downtown with a group of six individuals from Guinea (who just got back from Dubai). They were nice, as were the two guys working in the accomadations office.Other great sites of the day - sign holders (like Brett on Flight of the Conchords), the movie Shotgun Stories (all filmed in Arkansas) showing in London, a Cameroonian flag, some great graffiti (an awesome Banksy piece and the robot guy - twice), and the Nelson Mandela statue near Westminister.
Next stop - CAMEROON!
