Okay, so my friends are here. Great, right? Well, sort of. See, they came to visit for the second week of my Easter break. One was supposed to go home Friday, one Saturday. They're still here.
Right now, the weirdest thing is that no one knows how long the ash from the volcano will continue to hang about above the UK and Europe. A is scheduled to go home on Wednesday now, and B is scheduled for Tuesday. Whether or not that will happen is anyone's guess.
Both have children, and both would really like to get home to them. Like a hundred thousand other people who are stranded here or there. Maybe that's exaggerating, but the number gets bigger every day. At my school, we have teachers who went to the States, and to Hong Kong and other places in Europe for their two-week holiday; I don't know how many got back before Thursday when all this started. How many teachers can be gone from a school? And why did't I go somewhere to get stuck as well? I'm just saying.
What I'm finding interesting, is how many people are saying to my friends. "Wow, you get extra days! How great! Enjoy yourselves!"
Except, there's this feeling of uncertainty; what's the best thing to do? We hear on the news that this could be going on for months. No one knows what's going to happen. Should they try to take a coach and a ferry and a train to Spain to catch a flight from there? What if the ash reaches Spain before that, and they get stuck there? At least here, they have a place to stay, and don't have to spend extra money. should they try to book passage on a boat? That's silly... isn't it? I mean, this will clear up at the end of the week at the latest, right?
Or not.
It costs about $1600 and takes seven days to take a ship from here to New York, and then there's the flight home to California after that. Is it ridiculous to consider that as an option? Will that be the only option?
We have another friend who went to Prague on business, and is stuck there, and A's teenage nieces are stuck in Germany somewhere. These are just my friends from the states who can't get home.
Of course, the weather today is fabulous, and my friends are out enjoying it the best they can. I'm here. I have papers to mark. I'd planned to mark them yesterday and today, since they were supposed to already have left.
Interesting times.
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I understand what you mean when you talk about the uncertainty. My parents are stuck in Nairobi, as is my friend from the States- everyone tells us to enjoy the extra days- but their spending money has been spent, mum has run out of her medication, plus i have to go back to work and they need a driver if they are to experience anything here- all extra unplanned expense...not to mention loss of earnings from their jobs, and the fact that the insurance company has got themselves out of compensation by calling it an 'act of god' and saying its out of their control!!
ReplyDeleteoh well, at least it is sunny here!!
In September 2001 I had to book passage on a ship for the 48 of us when we got "stuck" in London. We took transportation to Portsmouth then a ferry from there to Bilboa, Spain. It took 1 1/2 days to reach northern Spain. Just another idea. I'm glad that your 2 friends have each other to talk through the uncertainty too.
ReplyDeleteI read that some fancy performer (I can't remember who...) took a cab ride that cost him $4000 to get where he needed to go. I say you start looking for opportunities. ;o) I'm kidding, of course. Your friends are lucky they have you.
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