departure/london

So, I'm safely in London Gatwick waiting on my flight to Malaga. Needless to say its been an eventful first part of my trip. I specifically choose a window seat on my flight across the Atlantic so I could try to see all I could, only to be in a row with no windows. But overall it was a good flight. I didn't realize I'd be served two meals on the way, so that was cool. And I bumped into a co-worker on the same flight which was weird. And by co-worker I mean President of Campbell University and his wife, along with one of the Vice Presidents and his wife. Of course they didn't recognize me, even though we've been introduced at least 6 times and I've actually given treatment advice for various ailments via phone. Oh well.

So, I land in London, and I have to go to a different airport. I've been stressing about this part of the trip since I found out about it. So, I'm waiting to go through customs, and the agent who is stamping my passport says "What time is your flight?". I tell her 11, and she gives me a look like "are you serious?". She proceeds to tell me there's no way I'd make my connection, but I should hurry to try. So, in my rush, I'm not thinking clearly at this point. While waiting on the shuttle, I figure I'd get some other things done, like getting some currency. However, I'm not focused, and end up withdrawing pounds (£) instead of what I needed, euros (€). So I end up going to the currency exchange place and having the lady exchange it for me. She could tell I was a stupid American, and had pity on my by not charging me the commission for the exchange.
All that to say I'm at the airport on time, with a pocket full of the right currency, and excited about the trip to come.