4:27 P.M. - We took off about ten minutes ago and are over Lake Michigan right now. Having been a slave to American Airlines for the better part of my life, I have not experienced the wonders of other airlines. I am on a KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) 747. It’s completely empty. I can’t remember the last time I was on an American flight that I didn’t have some sweaty beef cake on every side of me. There are two brothers in front of me who are about 12 and 8ish. The older one has been telling the younger one all about the airplane and how Boeing is a lot better than Airbus. He is correct. But this reminded me of my brother preaching to me as a kid all about airplanes. I used to quiz him on which airplane was which in American Way Magazine. There are personal entertainment systems on every seat which is nice. Gotta get caught up on my movies because this will probably be the last time I see American cinema for 4 months. In other news, right after my Mom dropped me off at the airport, I saw a friend from high school at the check in counter for KLM. He is studying abroad just outside of Venice, Italy and is on the same flight as me. Crazy. We are going to throw back a few in a little bit and reminisce of the days at St. Charles East. All is well for now, I will report back soon.
P.S. While writing this I was served my first drink. Ginger ale of course. It is about the size of a Dixie cup. Europeans really need to learn about American portions.
5:28 P.M. - Dinner has been served. I was offered chicken or beef. Awesome. I got the chicken. It was some sort of chicken soy sauce mix with a chicken Caesar salad. Not all bad but I’ll report back later. Right now we are traveling 658 MPH and we are a little ways north of Albany, NY. I did finally meet someone from my program. My friend from high school, Matt, is sitting next to a girl so I got to meet her. Just finished an episode of Two and a Half Men and now I’m watching Friends. Everything’s good for now.
6:53 P.M. - The lights have finally been turned off in the airplane so I am going to try to get some sleep thanks to an American Airlines First Class amenities kit. It appears we are just leaving Canadian airspace over St. Johns Island and will soon begin our trek over the Atlantic. 4 Hours 21 Minutes remain. Food sitting well.
10:10 P.M. - Fast forward many hours. 1 hour and 11 minutes to go. Just crossing into Ireland right now. I’m not sure if I ever slept but the last few hours have been spent dealing with a raging headache. It has been delightful. I was just starting to get to sleep when the Indian family in front of me decided that it was time for everyone on the airplane to get up. They were playing a 4 player game of Tetris through the entertainment system. Lots of yelling.
10:55 P.M. - Food is not sitting well. We are just north of Norwich and about 25 minutes from landing in Amsterdam and have just started our decent. All in all it was not a bad flight at all with the exception of the bad headache and the questionable chicken. Definitely and upgrade from my flight over the summer from NYC to Vienna. It looks like we are going to be getting in about a half hour early as well. It will be about a three hour layover in Amsterdam. KL 612 over and out.
9:38 A.M. - 4 pitchers of Heineken and 11 hours later I have found myself just under an hour out from Nairobi. Once we got in to Amsterdam, our whole group met up and we decided to do what college students do best and go find a bar open at 7 A.M. local time to have a drink. About 15 of us found a bar in the airport, downed some pitchers and chatted about our upcoming African adventures. The time flew and the next thing we knew it was time to board KL 565 to Nairobi. I fell asleep on the airplane as soon as I sat down. I don’t remember the takeoff or anything until just a few minutes ago. I am very proud of myself. We are just to the northwest of Juba, South Sudan (voting on the referendum ended two days ago and all signs point to the creation of a sovereign South Sudan) and will be crossing the border with Kenya in a few minutes. Even though this flight is packed in typical American Airlines fashion, it was delightfully uneventful. Snack time.
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