Meg

I don’t care that my body thinks that it is 4am. I don’t care that I’ve been awake and travelling for 23 hours. I don’t care that I have lived through 8pm twice tonight. I don’t care that for my tea I had a cereal bar and a bag of low fat pretzels. I don’t even care that every single person I have spoken to has said, ‘Why on earth are you going to Iowa?’ I don’t care because I am in Love. I love that the lady I sat next to on the plane and have only known 7 hours has invited me to her family’s Christmas celebrations on the beach in Florida. I love that when I walked into the Eastern Iowa Airport’s baggage claim and arrivals lounge I automatically knew that every person in the room was an Iowan. I love that the shuttle bus I was picked up in to take me from the airport to the hotel was a white, miniature version of a the stereotypical, yellow American School Bus – complete with ‘awesome’ lever that the driver uses to open the door without leaving his seat. I also love that my shuttle bus appears to be free. I love that the petrol stations have retro gas pumps. I love that everywhere I look I spot a brand or a structure or a sign that I have seen on TV or in movies. It’s like being on a ginormous film set. I love that when I enquired at my hotel about where to go for breakfast I was directed to the International House of Pancakes. I love that there are tall thin chimneys dotted around with red lights running up them that makes me feel as though I have found a little bit of Eggborough Power Station, the symbol of home, in Coralville, Iowa. I love that tomorrow I get to start my new life in the Hawkeye State. Some might call this culture shock, but I prefer, putting it simply, to call it Love.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 20th, 2014 at 7:18 pm and is filed under General, . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.