A False Start - Aug 26

In 1785 another Robert wrote:

In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

            Well the frenzy has begun. My abroad experience was scheduled to begin with a trip to Edinburgh to see the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and do a bit of sight seeing with Aunt Jill and Uncle Tim. We planned then to follow this weekend with a couple days in London before I headed to Florence to begin classes. As foreshadowed by the above quote however you may be able to guess that this is no longer going to happen as planned.

Unfortunately the notion expressed above by Robert Burns exactly encapsulates the beginning (or lack thereof) of my adventures abroad. Perhaps it is appropriate that I use a Scottish poet to express this particular portion of my experience, since due to circumstances beyond my control I will now be unable to go to Scotland. Yes, it is quite sad.

            My plans have been obliterated by an ill-tempered tempest known as Irene. The hurricane that currently heads for the eastern United States has caused quite a kerfuffle among those that live from North Carolina to New York.

            Needless to say, as I arrived in the airport in Durham at about 6:30 to leave for Edinburgh via Newark I was less than thrilled when the Continental worker casually informed me that my flight had been cancelled. I believe I responded to the news with a very calm (and very sarcastic) “cool.” After talking to the worker more I learned that due to the storm there would be no more fights to get me out of Durham until Monday. After a quick call to Dad and a rather aggressive conversation with the Continental employee I settled for the best option I had. I will now miss my trip to Scotland and will arrive in London at 8:25 on Tuesday the 30^th, 3 days later than planned.

            As regrettable as the circumstances are, at least I will still be able to see Aunt Jill and Uncle Tim before I go to school, and I can hardly begrudge the opportunity to spend a few more work-free days at Duke with my friends and siblings*. So though I was really looking forward to the festival I will have to settle for the still lofty consolation prize of an entire semester abroad. When things are put in perspective it is pretty hard to complain too much.

* Reid is taking shelter in Durham to avoid the more direct blows of the storm in Williamsburg, and Mary Kate has of course just begun as a Freshman at Duke.