The Way Over

My journey began with the drive to O'Hare, chauffeured by my lovely parents. After waiting a while for bags and paperwork to be checked, we parted ways with many hugs. Bonita and I headed through security, under the neon lights, and to our gate without incident. Before we knew it, we were boarding and well on our way for the first and longest leg of our trip!

The UK has some unique laws around bringing pets into the country, so as a result (long story short) Bonita and I took the scenic route so she could travel in the cabin and not in the belly of the plane. We flew from Chicago to Paris, then took a taxi from Paris to Folkestone followed by two trains to Leicester and, finally, an Uber to our flat.

Fortunately, the middle seat in our row was open and so I was able to keep Bonita beside me in her carrier most of the flight.

Our window-seat companion (Julie) was fantastic, she was very sweet and shared many interesting stories about her travels, two dogs at home, and career in vegetated rooftops (which really resonated with my hydrologic/hydraulic engineering background). The time passed easily between talking with her, reading a bit, doing Sudoku, and watching Coco. Meals on the flight were quite lovely as well, Bonita enjoyed some bits of chicken from the dinner as a reward for her very tolerant travel demeanor.

Near morning Bonita got a bit antsy and talkative, which was surprisingly rare during our journey (she's usually speaks her mind). I slipped her out of the carrier onto my lap and mostly under the complimentary blanket, which kept her quite content through breakfast. After the meal, we were preparing to land already, so she popped back into the carrier.

The next leg of the trip was via taxi from Charles de Gaulle through the Eurotunnel to Folkestone.

The driver's name was Marcel, and he was very amiable and helpful for going through the process of having Bonita's papers checked as we made our way across the border from France to England. We ended up timing our arrival perfectly and drove through the border crossing onto one of the last available carriages of the Eurotunnel train, which Marcel was thrilled about: on less fortunate days, it's not uncommon for him to wait at least an hour or more to get onto a train.

During the trip below the Chunnel, we chatted and enjoyed the opportunity to stretch our legs. In doing so, we spotted a very relevant poster. The Eurotunnel is incredibly impressive and fascinating, but also quite underwhelming to travel through since it's mostly just dark.

Our luck continued as we switched modes of transportation: I arrived at the Folkestone platform with 5 minutes or so to spare. Later, I caught the train from St. Pancras station in London just as boarding was ending. I got on at the very first set of open doors which was in the first class section of the train. Fortunately, the conductor took pity and offered me a seat between carriages after watching me squeeze through the first set of doors with my menagerie of bags on our way back to the standard area. As a bonus, the trolley drivers shared extra first-class refreshments with me! It was quite pleasant to have some snacks while taking in the bucolic British landscape, Bonita snoozing in her carrier on my lap.

The last step was a brief Uber trip which provided us our first glimpse of the city where we'll be living for about the next year. Our driver was again very kind, and curious about why I was travelling with a cat and lots of luggage. We talked about Leicester and the US, and the 20-minute drive flew by relative to the other segments of the trip. I was grateful to quickly have the keys and be in the lift up to our new flat. Bonita was thrilled to have a couch to decompress under, and I was thrilled to have a warm shower.

That evening, after cleaning up and beginning to unpack, I connected with my colleagues (who are also in Leicester for the rotational program). We walked to the city center for dinner, I enjoyed some warming topokki (or tteokbokki) and hearing about everyone's thoughts on the town and their work so far, since I was the last of our cohort to arrive.

All in all, the journey took roughly 19 hours total. Needless to say, I was fully prepared to sleep once I made it back to the flat: the exhausting trip definitely accelerated my ability to overcome jet lag. I was very glad to get settled in with Bonita as well as our buddy Xander cat, a generous going away gift that reminds us of our family across the pond.

The next morning, I headed into the office with my colleagues to meet my manager and learn more about my new job!