Across the Ocean I Go

Going to England was the first big trip I ever made. It was also my first time leaving the continent which is why it is so memorable for me. The trip took place when I was in grade 2, so it was actually before I moved to Germany. My dad had been planning a trip for a long time, but he kept the location a secret. All my brother's and I knew was that we needed out passports. This made the trip all the more exciting. We were so curious and to find out where we were going and the anticipation was almost unbearable. We finally found out the location of the trip when we checked into our flight. I was ecstatic! I didn't know much about England but I had heard many stories about it from my parents because they had lived there. We were going to stay in a little town called Swindon, which is actually the place that my parents lived. It was also neat because my brother was born there. He's older than me so by the time I was born we were back in Canada which is great but it would have made my story a little more interesting if I could tell people I was born in England. Anyways, the main purpose of our trip was to visit some old friends of my parents but we also had to do some sight seeing. The flight was long, but was actually really fun just because I couldn't contain my excitement. There also weren't very many people on our plane so we were able to get up and move around quite a bit, which was nice especially considering I have never been on a plane for more than 4 hours. I just remember being extremely hungry when we landed, but by the time we got there most everything was closed. We went to this little Greek stand and everything was super expensive, but it was the best taking meal ever.

Our first sight seeing expedition was Stonehenge. You can't do England without seeing Stonehenge. I was a little young to appreciate it, but it was still fascinating. There were those audio guides where every person had their own little device and headphones and you could get kind of your own personal guided tour. To be honest I don't remember a single thing that the guide said, but I do remember being blown away by the stone structures. Those are some really huge rocks and the mystery of how they placed and what tools they used to do so is intriguing. After Stonehenge, we went to this other place not far. I honestly couldn't tell you the name of this place cause I don't remember, but I do remember that there were some more big rocks and there were also sheep roaming everywhere which was really neat. I was more concerned with what the sheep were doing than what I was actually supposed to be paying attention to obviously, considering I don't even remember what it was in the first place. The field we were in was full of stinging nettle. I don't know how many times my parents told me to be careful, but obviously not enough. I was wearing those pants that could be converted to capris or shorts by unzipping a section, I was really cool I know, but for some reason I decided it would be best to convert my pants into shorts even though I knew that if I touched these plants I would be in some serious pain. Me, being the smart and coordinated child that I was, tripped and fell into many stinging nettle plants. The pain was seriously excruciating. Once the initial sting was over it wasn't so bad, but I will never forget the pain I experienced that day. My pain made for a good memory though that I can now look back and laugh on because I kind of set myself up for it. 

We didn't really get the chance to go anymore sight seeing because of time. We spend the remaining time visiting with folks that my parents knew years ago. They all had kids around my age and it was actually really cool interacting with them because we were so different. We all clicked instantly though. It was almost as if we were best friends who hadn't seen each other for a couple of days, just picking up where we had left off. We shared stories about our schools and friends and it was really sweet being able to get to know these kids from a different part of the world. I even developed a little crush for one of the little British boys but what can  I say, the accent is very charming. England felt like a second home to me, everything felt kind of familiar but still new and exciting. It's probably one of my favourite places for that reason. It was definitely a trip that I will never forget and opened my eyes to a whole new world. I think it was the first real thing that sparked my interest in wanting to travel. It was the beginning to my lifetime of wanderlust.