And just like that... it's done!

The alarm went off at 5:15 AM!  Lois and I got up and finished packing, weighed our bags (and moved some items from the too-heavy bag to the lighter bag), and went down to meet the rest of the group at 6:00 AM.  (Even Sarah came down!  She is staying an extra week to visit with her aunt, and was not leaving until lunch time.)  The entire group arrived within a few minutes of the designated time.  Pre-arranged cabs were there to take us to the Shannon airport.

We arrived about 6:30 AM and proceeded to check in with the airline.  From there we went through the airport security.  Next up: US customs pre-clearance where we forfeited our apples, and other dis-allowed fruit and vegetables (like lettuce on a sandwich!).  We eventually got through all of this and arrived at our gate a bit before 8:00 AM.  Our flight was to leave at 9:00 AM, or so we thought.  It turns out there was an hour delay.  We finally took off a little after 9:00 AM.  The flight was long (7.5 hours), but uneventful.

We arrived in Newark, NJ, about 11:30 just in time to start our five hour layover before we catch our flight to Indianapolis, IN.  The first item of business after getting off the plane was to either turn cell phones back on that have been off for three weeks or to go to the bathroom.  That being taken care of, we found a seating area at which we could “comfortably” spend our long layover.  We sat.  We walked around.  We sat.  We sat some more.  We walked around.  We sat.  We discovered that a five hour layover is a loooooong time to wait in an airport.  Eventually it came time for our flight so we took an inter-terminal shuttle to our gate and boarded our flight to Indianapolis a few minutes later.

Another uneventful flight plus a couple of hours put us in the Indianapolis airport.  We proceeded to the luggage pickup area.  It appeared that our bags had actually arrived on an earlier flight.  Too bad we couldn’t have caught that flight!  Shortly after, Josh’s ride was present and he disappeared.  A few minutes later, Kayla’s family arrived and welcomed her back with hugs all around.  Benaiah, Steven, Lois and I then headed towards Muncie.  (Remember, we left Sarah in Limerick.)  After dropping each of them off at their apartments, we arrived home around 9:00 PM.

Thus ends our last day of our field study.  We’ve been in or traveled through six countries (Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the United States of America).  We’ve visited many cities, castles, universities, museums, pubs, and hostels.  We’ve been in buildings just a few years old, and others that are 800 years old.  We’ve been to earth formations that are thousands of years old.  We met lots of interesting people and heard lots of different languages along the way.  We’ve ridden on uncounted trains, tubes, busses, coaches, and even a ferry.  Collectively, we walked around 900 miles!  We learned how to use two different currencies (Pounds and Euros).  We experienced 40 degree and 85 degree weather.  We experienced rain, sunshine, and even hail.

May 8, 2012

26 May 2012

Was it a perfect trip that went exactly as planned?  No, but I didn’t expect it to.  There were way too many things happening for something to not go according to plan. I feel it was a great trip.  The group of us got to know each other a lot better after spending three weeks together.  I believe we each became a wee bit more comfortable with being in new places and experiencing new and unknown things.  I think each of us pushed ourselves to try something new.  We may each have become a bit more independent.  I learned that the world is both much bigger than I understood, and yet at the same time very small.  There is so much going on in the world that we have no clue about.  But people are people the world around.  We may speak different languages, or use different accents, but fundamentally we’re all the same.  With the possibilities of computers and networks today there are very few reasons why we can’t all share what we’re doing with everyone else in the world.  It is through sharing of new found knowledge, wisdom, and feelings that we can move the world forward toward a better place.

So I now post this entry a few minutes past midnight from my home in Muncie, Indiana, USA.  My day started at 5:15 AM in Limerick Ireland.  Since there is a five hour difference in time, that means my travel started 24 hours ago.  (Yes, I’ve had some naps along the way.)  We’ve just completed in three weeks what would have taken months to accomplish a hundred years ago.  I wonder what travel will be like a hundred years from now.

The aftermath of opening our suitcases!