Arrival in the UK

May 29th, 2009 Heathrow Airport 5:15PM London Time

So I landed safely. Yay! Pretty good flight except not being able to sleep. I blame my body for that.

My issue was getting through the UK border. I went up to the desk and told the I was volunteering with the African Children’s Choir and handed her all the documents I was told to give, she asked if I had a sponsorship number. I had never heard of it before and had no idea. The officer seemed a bit confused why I didn’t have it and said she needed to look further into it before she could let me in. So she handed me a paper (which I might still have) that said I was being held back and my case was going into further study. I was a bit nervous, but I knew everything would be alright. I sat in a closed seating section with 4 chairs. After an hour and having no response I was somewhat worried, but still confident I would get through, just hoping it would be soon. I didn’t want to miss my connecting flight that was later that evening. So after about 1.5 hours a lady came up to me and said the other lady is gone home and has handed the case over to me. I was told they were in contact with the Choir and trying to sort everything out, which helped a lot.

She asked if I needed anything, food, water etc. I had just said I am just really tired and want to sleep. The sleeping pills were in full effect at this point and I was struggling a lot to stay awake while waiting. I had no one to phone or talk to. One New Zealander joined me for a bit because he wrote that he was a “bum” as his occupation on his landing card because he didn’t have a job. He also wasn’t sure when he would be leaving the country. (I personally would have put him there for that) He was a really nice guy, just made a bad decision by not planning things out properly before getting to the border. He left quite quickly, I’m not sure if he ever got thorough. A lot of Africans joined me and left, it didn’t feel good sitting there for so long. The lady came back about 30 minutes later to check on me, and re assuring me they were still looking into things. I told her I had a connecting flight I didn’t want to miss. She was quite nice, but still quite serious and didn’t give me any hope of knowing weather I would be staying or going.

After about 2.5 hours of sitting in that black leather chair, the officer came up and said to come join her. She said it wasn’t bad news. She told me they would let me land, but my stay would be monitored while I was here, and gave me the info of why I was allowed in, and told me to give them the paper when I would be coming back in from Dubai so it wouldn’t happen again. The choir now has the sponsorship number they need. Apparently the airport isn't sure of all their rules and how to deal with them. They actually admitted that.

There was free Internet at the airport, but it wouldn’t let me connect for some reason, I tried about 5 times. The airport is HUGE! It’s also really cool looking, I took some pictures, but I didn’t want to get lost. It took me a while to find the train to the next Terminal and I couldn’t figure out the gate for my connecting flight, and then it got changed last minute, but it all got figured out. My second flight was a larger plane than I had expected. We got to go up the big steps, I always feel like a celebrity when I go in and out that way. I’m glad it wasn’t raining.

A crazy day to say the least. I made my connecting flight to Belfast, Northern Ireland, sat next to 2 businessmen who talked the entire time, and I just kept falling asleep on and off. I noticed the difference in accents right away. It’s hard to explain in words how it sounds. I was picked up at the airport with a smile and a hug from my Choir Manager, Heather, and everything just felt at peace.

I am staying at her parents house with another girl from the states (she was the one who had to deal with the officials while I was sitting there. We were together in the decision, but I sat, while she did all the talking. They searched her suitcase and found the ACC logo shirts, which I think played a factor in them letting us in. The house is brand new and huge, I have my own room and bathroom. I’ve taken a shower, eaten and written this. It’s 12:30AM now. I’m barely keeping my eyes open. I can be more detailed when I have a fresh mind to work with. I apologize for not getting this to everyone sooner, but I’m in the country and there is no wireless here, so you will have to wait. Hope you aren’t too worried about me. :0)

Until then good night and thanks for reading :)