On Board BA285: San Francisco
I’m writing this post from seat 41C on BA 285 to San Francisco. We’re a bit behind schedule due to a delayed flight from Delhi. When I landed at LHR some six weeks ago, it really felt like I was coming home. It was the warmest feeling even though I haven’t stepped foot on British soil since 2004 when my friend and I backpacked through Europe. Some how England felt so familiar to me. Perhaps it was because I spent a year corresponding with my colleagues at Oxford Brookes, or my daily check-in with my husband in London, or my excitement about living in the UK. I felt very much at home here, and as excited as I am to finish up my last semester of grad school, I am sad to leave my comfortable Clapham flat, London, and of course Kenz. The last weeks have been wonderful and I am looking forward to coming “home” over spring break.
That said, the 7am minicab ride to the airport was killer; it took 2 hours to get to LHR this morning due to the rain and traffic. Next time I will leave on an afternoon flight and take the Piccadilly line to the airport. Aside from this, my last weekend in London was quite enjoyable. Friday evening I met a bunch of Kenz’s colleagues in Canary Wharf, all English. One of his colleague’s wife, who is 39 weeks pregnant and has a scheduled c-section today, came out and celebrated their “last weekend of freedom.” =) Congratulations on your new bundle of joy! We are thrilled for you and your new adventure into parenthood.
Saturday evening Kenz’s Dad arrived from India on a 20 hr. layover. We are very glad that he was stopping by and see our neighborhood despite being such a short stop over. On your next visit, we’ll be sure to see London properly, along with a cricket game at the Oval Stadium and a wonderful Indian meal. What started as a beautiful sunny day turned into a nasty storm; it was rainy, windy, and wet! This was my first real “rainy” day since I arrived. Otherwise, the weather has been mild. We went to our local Thai restaurant and the to “Frog and Forget-Me-Not” pub. Don’t you love the names of English pubs: “Slug and Lettuce,” “All Bar One,” “Rose and Crown,” and “Dirty Dick?” We had breakfast together before Kenz’s Dad left to the airport. Kenz even got teary-eyed when he waved goodbye to his Dad on the platform of Knightsbrige Tube Station. I spent my last evening in London running some errands, packing, and cooking one last meal before the kitchen goes into hibernation (that’s b/c Kenz doesn’t cook~!).
Well, this is the end of my winter break. Good fun! We hosted four visitors, saw two new cities (Oxford and Madrid), drank lots of wine, met tons of people, and enjoyed quality time together. I’m looking forward to this week: on January 20th, America will witness history as President Barack Obama will get sworn into office and the celebration of the year of the Ox on January 26th. All my single friends and family, you’ll be getting a lucky red envelope from Kenz and I, wishing all good blessings for the Year of the Ox. =) I’m looking forward to sharing a meal with my parents and sister in Sacramento. For now, I will pass the baton to Kenz as he gets to update this blog intermittently. I know he has a full house of visitors starting mid-February. Should be fun! Anyways, let the countdown begin to March 19th…
Love, Lily
