Jet Lag

I do not like international travel. I think it would be a lot better if you had a day or two between airplanes. Perhaps in the future I will remember to book tickets that way. Take a taxi from airports, to a hostel. Take a shower, relax, walk around the neighborhoods. Come home, sleep, wake up late, have espresso, catch a plane later in the day. Yeah. This waiting for five hours in airports is for the bloody birds.
Not that I don't heartily appreciate the free plane ticket I was given. The thing I don't appreciate is the way they treat you at airports. Newark was horrible. I walked a million miles, to customs..had to claim my luggage then get it back to check it in. And that, my friends, was pure Hell.
Delta's check in was swamped. It was all self-service kiosks but let me tell you right now, there are a bajillion folks out there who have no idea how to use those kiosks and need help. I needed to ask a question, that's all. "Is it too early to check my bag in for a flight that's five hours away?"
I asked that and the woman, this older (much) black lady, short and dour looking, haggard, took my itinerary and walked off with it. (I had another copy, but still...) then she got swamped by very rude large loud black hoodlums asking her questions. She asked one of them to move so she could get to the kiosk but he refused. So she reached under him and managed.
Somehow she got me settled while answering a million questions from this group of ill-dressed hoodlums and then she told me it was fifteen bucks to check my bag in.
So... I gave her a twenty and she took off with it. She came back a while later with my change and I thanked her profusely and told her to have a nice week. I wish I'd gotten her name. She was a big help in that sea of rude Americans.
I hauled my carry ons a million miles away to the gate and sat there listening to power saws twenty feet away ...I couldn't hear my iPod. *note to self: noise canceling head phones!*
I did the whole "look around frantically for a hot wall outlet* thing; I kept finding outlets that worked for five minutes then didn't. I suppose that was the construction. They do have cell charging stations : not ideally situated for laptops but, I managed to find a seat near an outlet and got online, which cost me seven and a bit. But it was a lifesaver. I was ready to pull my hair out. It's not a friendly or pleasant airport, to say the least.
Nor the cleanest. It was cool seeing the Statue of Liberty way off in the distance, and the Isle of Manhattan. Too bad I didn't have the guts to go exploring, I certainly had the time. But really I panic if I'm not at the gate sitting listening to the people behind the desks.
Finally got on the plane for Atlanta . It was Air Italia, no tv or anything. An old plane. It was a two hour flight, I read most of the way: got to Atlanta and had...many many meters to walk. I could have used the moving sidewalks but needed to stretch my legs. LONG LONG walk to the proper terminal but I was still pretty much ok...however another long layover and another search for outlets. Finally found one, near a seat, and that helped tremendously, being online sure helps when you are too knackered to think straight, too tired to walk about, but lonely and wanting to be connected. Too tired to read.
Atlanta is a pretty nice airport. It's big! I was not prepared for it to be so bloody hot. When I finally got on the plane for Huntsville it was getting pretty late and I was feeling done in. Tiny plane, I had the seat next to me empty so I snoozed a bit, and woke up to the plane landing.
It was so hot when I walked out of the airport I thought I was going to cry. Truly, I just sat on the sidewalk and held in the tears. I didn't want to be there, looking across at the big, fat, loud, sloppy, crude cab drivers waiting for fares...they were gross ...and made me remember the taxi drivers in Glasgow & East Kilbride. All were older men who were very clean, polite, neat. And if they did listen to the radio it was softly. The taxis were immaculate and the drivers professional.
Anyhow, my sister showed up and she had brought her bloody dogs. The dogs went ballistic and I was not in the mood, not at all. And my sister started talking about our mum and I had to tell her I was not in the mood. She started in saying inane, totally inane things and I wanted to choke her.
I guess I have to reaclimate.