Hey, so I'm in the US at last! 23 hours of flying, and I finally made it to Providence! I really think that babies shouldn't be allowed on Airpplanes, since I spent most of the SA to UK flight with a toddler trying to burst my eardrum by crying really really loudly! Then on the way from Chicago to Providence there was a baby behind me crying the whole way. And those were both of the flights where the in flight entertainment was below par, so some sleep would have been good. The United flight from Heathrow to Chicago was quite good, at least we had individual screens and could select the movies we watched. On the way from Cape Town, we had an archaic in flight entertainment syste, there was a TV that lowered itself from the roof, and looked like it came from the 80's. And at the distance from my seat, it would have been better off if I had watched on my Ipod. And they only showed 2 movies, so at 2am there was a baby crying, and no movie to watch, so I had to listen to the music channel, and read. I had really hoped to watch movies all night, but that wasn't going to happen obviously. Then on the UK to Chicago, as I mentioned we got individual screens, so that was cool, but after watching 2 movies, my screen and controls went on the blink. So I ended up reading for 2 hours, then I realised that whenever I moved my feet, the screen flipped back on. So it was obviously a loose connection underneath the chair in front of me. So for the rest of the flight I was able to watch movies, but it was a bit annoying, since every time I moved my feet, my screen would freak out!
Then on the way from Chicago to Providence they showed the Office, which I'm not too partial to, and then some kind of soap opera, which didn't tickle my fancy either, so needless to say I got more reading done there aswell.
I was a bit concerned, as the flight from Chicago was delayed due to rain, and then had some problem with the brakes. I only realised when I reached Chicago that I only had a land line number for the Camp, and not a mobile, so I tried phoning to let them know we'd been delayed, but just got an answering machine. I learnt later from the guy who picked me up, that he could have gotten messages off that machine, but I didn't leave a message, so I was just glad that when we got into Providence (at about 12:15) that he was still there!
The Airports on the way are all super huge, at both Heathrow and Chicago you had to walk like forever to get to where you needed to go. Heathrow was great, its pretty jacked up, everything looks like its been revamped in the last couple of years, their transit/departure lunge is pretty massive, and modern, it was quite cool to chill there for a bit, I just wish I'd had the forethought to get some pounds, since I had to sit on crusty airport chairs for 5 hours or so to wait for my flight to board. Would have far rather gone to sit in one of the coffee shops or restaurants. I did peruse the Whisky shop, and noticed a few familiar brands (thanks Will :P). Chicago also had a pretty hectic Departure mall, but that was just massive, but it looked like it came from the 80's, in fact the whole of O'Hare airport looked like its was last redone in that era. The same with Providence, although Providence pulls it off with a bit more class. I think Cape Town International does us proud in comparison, since its pretty decent and very up to date.
I was a bit concerned about going through immigration/customs, but that was such a breeze, you just had to hand in your passport and forma, have your finger prints taken (they use a cool scanner, so you don't need to get your fingers dirty with that lame ink stuff), then have a sullen officer ask why you're going to the US, and then you were through. The customs dudes just took your forms and waved you on. They didn't even ask "Do you have anything to declare?" I almost felt cheated!
So I got to Providence super late, fortunately the guy who'd been assigned to pick me up put two and two together and realised I was on the Chicago flight, so he waited. I was kinda stressing out that he'd have left and I'd have had to try and find a place to stay for the night, at 12am!!!
Camp Fuller is set on a lagoon called Judith Pond 15 minutes drive from Wakefield, it kind of reminds me of Hermanus/Klienmond, except there are more beach houses on the opposite shore. Its quite rustic here, with a whole lot of spread out cabins and what not. I've met a bunch of really great people, mostly from the UK, but one or two from New Zealand and Australia. I even met a US girl called Arielle (spelling???) who actually stayed in Cape Town for 4 months, she did a course at UCT, so she stayed in Rondebsch, which was a massive coincidence!!!
I got here a few days early, I thought I'd try have a few days to get over the jet lag and whatnot, but I seem to be doing OK, maybe my Cycadian (spelling???) rythm's or whatever it was that were out of kilter in SA and meant that I couldn't get to sleep there, are all right for the US, or maybe its just that travelling West its not so bad, but when I come back, it'll hit me hard? Anyhow, I got up this morning at 6, and went for a run, so I'm pretty proud of myself, don't think it'll last when the kids arrive though! At the moment I don't have any duties, so I'm mainly voluntarily helping with the washing up guys, who are all British, but never the less are pretty cool. I was beginning to think that the US steriotype was not true in Rhode Island, since a bunch of the people I've met have been reasonably sized, but then I remebered that they're also mostly foreigners. And then I met the kitchen staff who definitely fit the standard steriotype!!!
As for the camp iotself, it's pretty cool, its spread out, with a couple of fields in between, It's pretty massive, I went for a walk around it, and it probably took me something like an hour to walk around most of the site. Its set about 5km from the main road, But the vegitation is pretty thick, you can get through it if you want, but there's lots of small trees and bushes, so it does feel like I'm in the middle of the wild, even if it only takes about 20mins to get to the nearest town. It's set on the lagoon, so there's a couple of jetty's, however you're only ollowed to swim if there's a life guard on duty, which is a bit of a lus! Also you're not allowed to walk with bare feet in the food hall, apparently that's against regulations, and if the health inspector saw, they'd be in deep trouble. I have seen a bunch of rabbits, and everywhere you look there are chipmunks, which is pretty cool, I'll upload some pictures when I get the chance, but that's it for now, I'll write some more when I think of stuff to write about...
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