So we are sitting in Heathrow with a few hours to go, and it seems like a good time to give some final thoughts. Pets were missed. Some parents were missed. Nobody missed their siblings. Except Seth.
Hannah: I have learned how to adapt to foreign situations and how to travel, how to navigate a city, how to navigate a foreign culture, and how to get the most out of travel. I learned how to pay attention to my surroundings and really see what's around.
Emma: This helped me step outside my comfort zone and made me more outgoing and independent
Molly: I don't want to leave. I am definitely coming back; I want to move to London. I learned not to trust my mom when packing
Seth: I actually don't want live in London (I thought I did). I liked Edinburgh, but the weather in London was worse than I expected. I didn't strangle Noah. I hate haggis, but at least I tried it. Nobody speaks Welsh in Wales!
Noah: I hate the plane ride. I can use a train effectively. My brain hurts. I guess it got bigger? It was like Eugene, but cooler. I still think this is a prank. This can't be real. I could stay another year.
Gabe: I saw cool . . . things. What did we learn? I learned a lot about medieval things and the conquerer dude and the eighth Henry dude. The stone walls showed me how deep of a history they have. They are everywhere. Is the queen still the head of the church of whatever?
Erika: Gave me a new perspective on travel--I have never traveled with kids my own age, and that was fun. I like new places.
Jaci: When people think of the US, they think of Donald Trump. Everyone hates him. I miss good water. The architecture was cool, and it was neat to see really old buildings next to modern ones. Variety is the spice of life.
Jacob: I saw different perspectives on the US and how other people think of us. I love the candy here.
Trevor: You have to bring salt packets--food isn't salty enough. The buildings are cooler here, and it's faster and I would live here. The lifestyle suits me. I ate haggis. There are dogs that look like the Skyrim dogs.
Victoria: I love the Tube and I finally remember the name! I didn't like the candy. Playing hide and seek in the castles was fun. I feel more confident in places I am not sure about. I wish I could stay longer. I want to travel more. The days felt longer because I was enjoying every moment, and it was fun!
Audrey: I learned how to do the Tube thing. I feel like like I can conquer the world. I kissed a stone, and now I can achieve anything.
Benjamin: I learned a week is long enough. I love dresses for men (kilts). Thanks, Gus, for the talk about the things and lots of other stuff.
Callista: The analogy of the grass being greener on the other side holds true. There is still a grittiness to the world. The grayness of the road after rain is the same, but there is still much more to discover. I assumed that every place would be the same with a different format, but there is a different vibe, actually. It's cool to discover.
Crystal: I learned way too much about Henry the Eighth.
"The craic [pronounced "crack"] is great!" --Ben "I agree!"--Everyone else
Most likely to live under a bridge in Scotland--Noah
Most likely to die of a fit of laughter--Molly
Most likely to spread rabies--Crystal (rooming with the CT people)
Most likely to teach everyone in London to do the dab--Benjamin
Most likely to be killed by a swan--Gus
Most likely to get left behind off a bus--Jacob
Most likely to speak the language (well!)--Seth
Most likely to buy the weird things--Jaci
Most likely to strangle her sister--Victoria
Most likely to be laughing--Audrey
Most likely to be mistaken for a German--Gabe
Most likely to buy livestock upon return--Trevor
Most likely to be found in a Pret--Erika
Least likely to get in trouble or get lost (and least likely to do IB)--Emma
Most likely to have hair blowing everywhere--Hannah
Most likely to make a face in a picture--Callista
Edited to add a note about our adventurous trip home:
We left our benches in the Heathrow Terminal, got all the way to the last gate, and as our boarding group was called, Hannah realized she had left her camera at the benches. Seth and Jacob took his bags while he raced all the way back, found the camera, and boarded the flight at the last moment. Whew! Then towards the end of the flight a lady collapsed in the back of the plane, necessitating a few passengers to be moved to accommodate the lady and the nurse. Erika and Crystal ended up way further up the plane, then had to wait for everyone to deplane (we were in the last three rows) to go back and get their stuff. After the paramedics got the lady off and we were all in the arrivals hall, things really got wild as the line was about a half mile long. We have never seen anything like it! After a few fruitless calls to United, I raced off using the Global Entry privilege, found the gate, and asked if Emmanuel Torres, the lovely gate agent, could help us out--and he did. Meanwhile, Gus used his gift of gab and somehow, miraculously, got the group to bypass the line and hustled them all through immigration, customs, and another security check. They all sprinted through the airport and made their connection. Disaster averted, and Gus got not one, but TWO runs in! Gabe's suitcase and ours ended up in San Francisco, but otherwise all was well, and now it is off to class!
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