I arrived in the UK on Saturday afternoon around midday. Everything that has happened so far has been an absolute whirlwind, it's all gone by so quickly.
I left the airport in Melbourne at 9:25pm on Friday night. The flight from Melbourne to Dubai was 14 hours and unfortunately it was very uncomfortable. I took a sleeping pill when I got on the plane and was ready to fall asleep very soon after the plane took off. There was a man sitting behind me who was so tall that I couldn't even put my seat back. So I had to sit upright for the entire flight. I kept getting to the point where I was just about to fall asleep and then I would jolt awake suddenly when I felt my head falling forwards. I had a window seat so the only position I could get into that was even remotely comfortable was curled up against the window. I somehow managed to get 3 hours sleep during the flight, but was in a lot of pain by the end of it.
I had a stopover in Dubai for an hour and a half - which was just enough time to get through security and go to the boarding gate. I felt so anxious because the airport was full of people and I wasn't sure where to go. I managed to find the gate with about half an hour to spare and there was a mother and baby sitting next to me and a sweet little family of three to keep me occupied while I waited to board the 8 hour flight to Newcastle. My mum and my little sister gave me a card just before I left Melbourne, and I don't know why but I decided to read them while I was in Dubai. My heart ached for them and I bawled my eyes out. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, loving family who support me with everything I do (no matter how hard it is on them). My decision to move to the UK has been one of the most difficult decisions I'll ever have to make in my life, and despite the fact I spent a lot of time planning for it and thinking about it, I didn't realise just how difficult it would be until I hopped on the plane.
The flight from Dubai to Newcastle was much more comfortable (thankfully!) - I don't think I could have tolerated another uncomfortable flight. I was sitting at the very back of the plane in an aisle seat next to an older man. We didn't talk at all throughout the fight, only when we were just about to land because the pilot made an announcement saying for the cabin crew to prepare for take off - and had to correct himself to say prepare for landing! I nearly died and was almost in tears, ha ha. I was able to relax and put my seat all the way back which was wonderful although I didn't manage to get any sleep. I watched Two Broke Girls during the last few hours on the plane which made me think of my best friend Sophia and miss her immensely (I usually watch it with her).
I had so many mixed emotions when we finally landed. I was excited, anxious, happy, relieved, sad and scared all at the same time. I went straight into the bathroom to freshen up and brush my teeth before I went through passport control which took a while. I then went to collect my suitcases. I waited for a while looking for my bags before realising there was a second conveyor belt and they were the only bags left on there (I felt a bit silly because I was waiting at the wrong one for about ten minutes before I realised). To top it off they were about 15 kilos over the weight limit which I knew, but I was so tired and I wasn't prepared for how heavy they were. They have 4 wheels on the bottom which makes it easy to wheel them around, but it was still a struggle to lug them through the airport. Once I got my bags, there were two men standing near the doorway to get through to the exit who I discovered were customs. At first I avoided eye contact and hoped they wouldn't notice me (even though I was in plain sight and I was the only person even remotely close by). When I got closer I asked them if I was able to just go straight through. They asked me where I'd come from and when I said Australia, they waved me through without hesitation. I was soooo relieved. When I walked through the automatic doors and stepped onto English soil, I could have cried. It felt so amazing to feel the fresh air on my face and I was so happy to see Naomi's smiling face the second I stepped out (Naomi is Joel's wonderful older sister who I adore). She hugged me tightly (even though I was gross and probably smelly) and she was absolutely beaming which was wonderful for me because I couldn't stop smiling. She took one of my suitcases despite how heavy it was - for which I am eternally grateful and we started walking to her car.
At this point I was trying to stay composed but I was panicking a little internally. I has spent the last 23 hours on the plane going over thousands of different scenarios in my head about how I was going to surprise Joel and I still hadn't decided how I was going to do it. Would I just turn up on his doorstep? Would I ring him and ask him to check on the doorstep for a gift I'd sent him? Should I text him and tell him I just got off a plane in Newcastle and was on my way to see him? I'd told him I had the flu just before I left and he seemed to believe me so I was convinced he has no idea I was coming (except for the fact he was expecting me to fly over in a few weeks). We got to the car and Naomi was unlocking the boot to put my suitcases in...when Joel jumped out from in front of the car! I was completely shocked. I didn't know what to say and was just frozen where I was standing. It was the last thing in the world I was expecting. He came over to me and handed me a beautiful bunch of red, white and blue flowers, and I was just standing there with my heart about to jump straight out my chest! He hugged me so tightly and I was standing there in his arms shaking and crying. Eventually he got my suitcases and managed to throw them into the boot and we got into the car. Naomi's son Theo - the most beautiful 20-month old little boy you'll ever see was fast asleep in the back seat of the car. Joel got in the back next to him and I got in the front with my gorgeous flowers. I was shaking the whole way to what is my new home in the car because I was still in shock (in a good way!). Naomi dropped us off and Joel ran me a nice hot bath the moment we got in the door which was absolute bliss. And I haven't stopped smiling since.
- Sorry for the lengh of this post, and I have to apologise in advance because it certainly won't be the last lenthy blog post about my new life in England. Hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.
I look forward to updating you with some of my adventures in England very soon. Have you had any big suprises lately or suprised someone? What adventures have you had? I'm trying to make every day of my life an adventure and I hope you do too.
xxx
♥
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