Where in the world is Ashley Churchill?

So I arrived in Caoe Town late last night and I am so glad to be out of Tanzania. I had a pretty good experience there, but I really need to be part of the civilized world again. I've said this many of times; when you wash all of your clothes by hand, roosters wake you up every morning, and you have to walk for an hour to get ANYTHING, you really start feeling Amish after a while. Seriously, give me a big black dress and a horse and I'm totally Amish. Today, I celebrated my reintegration into the 21st Century by seeing a movie. I saw 'Vantage Point'. It wasn't very good, but it was nice sitting back and being normal again. I'm starting to feel less cut off from the world as well. I don't speak swahili well enough to really understand the radio and TV in Tanzania, which makes it hard keeping up to speed with the rest of the world. But everything in South Africa in english. Which is awesome. Its also much colder than I expected. I don't think we surpassed 20 degrees today. With that and how modern it is, I have a hard time beleiving that I'm still in Africa.

Ok, so let me tell you about my needlessly long trip into Cape Town. Almost every flight in the southern regions of Africa connect in Johannesburg (Jo'burg for short). But to get there, I had to endure a 6 hour flight from Kilimanjaro (with two stops inbetween, Zanzibar and Dar). Now this is the point where I reiterate that Tanzania runs much slower than the rest of the world. Knowing this, I expected my flight to Jo'burg to be delayed. But I was thinking in the realm of 30-60 minutes. My flight was delayed TWO HOURS! I accept that they run on a much slower clock, but it still pisses me off. Needless to say, I missed my connection. Turning my 8 hour trip into a 14 hour trip. Like I stated earlier, I am SO happy to be out of Tanzania.

I landed in Africa last night. The flights coming over were chaos. For starters, I couldn't get a direct flight from Toronto to nyc, I had to transfer in Florida. It couldn't be any further away if it were on the west coast! So instead of a 45 minute fight, I had two 3 hour flights. The flight from nyc to Amsterdam was pretty uneventful, which is always good. But let me tell you about the flight from Amsterdam to Tanzania. So we're on the plane, and about 2 hours into the flight we do a U turn and go back to Amsterdam! There was a problem with the fuel gauge and they had to go back to get it fixed AND they had to dump a whole load of fuel because the plane was too heavy to land. So all of that turned an 8 hour flight into a 12 hour flight. Adding up time spent on board, I was in flight for about 25 hours. I almost fell asleep in the bathtub when I got to the hotel. I'm taking on Kilimanjaro tomorrow, wish me luck!

Hey everyone! I offically landed on Canadian soil at 2am this morning. The 20 hours proceeding my homecoming can only be described at pure, concetrated, bad luck for myself and everyone within a 1 kilometer radius of myself.

So I get to the Beijing Capitol airport several hours before my flight time. I REALLY didn't want to miss my flight and everything in China has an air of unpredictability. I just wanted to cover all of my bases. So I get there and wait at my gate a while. I get on and take off is delayed slightly. I get a bit nervous, but the flight attendants seem pretty confident that the delay is pretty minor. As I was getting myself comfortable, a man two rows ahead of me starts having a grand mal seizure. Paremedics had to be called in and he had to be removed from the plane. So that delayed take off for another hour. But atleast it happened while we were still on the ground. I don't want to think about what would have happened if he started seizing 30, 000 ft. above Siberia! Anyway, so we take off and a baby across the isle from my starts bawling. And doesn't stop until 10 minutes before we land in Newark, 13 hours later. So we land in majestic and enchanting Newark, New Jersey about 15 minutes behind schedule. No big deal. However, this before I get on the phone with my mom and I learn about the massive storm in Toronto. The skies in New Jersey looked pretty clear, so I figured she was just my mom making mountains out of molehills as she always does. Anyhoo, so I head to my gate. They have the wrong city on the board. So I went back to the screens and catch myself up to speed. Its changed to another gate and delayed. So I go to that gate and its another wrong city. So I go back to the screens and notice that its on time again and at the original gate. So I go back there and that is when I realize that Continental is SCREWED UP! Every flight heading anywhere in Canada and the northeast US is delayed or cancelled. So I go to a customer service counter to get some answers. Anway long story short, its a that the second gate and delayed a second time. I make it on the plane and take my seat. I board around 9:30pm. Take off... 12:45am! So I finally land at Pearson in Toronto at 2am. Leaving a foriegn place that you love (like Japan, NZ, or Australia) is always sad. But returning to the familiarty of home is always awesome when you haven't been around in a while. I actually forgot that they redesigned the 20 dollar notes!

To express my mood at 2 o'clock on the morning of June 20, I am posting this picture:
Yes, even Ashley Churchill flips the bird when she feels the situation calls for it. And referrs to herself in third person when the mood strikes her.

I get home, power is completely out from the storm. I wash the 36 hours of sweat and grossness off and pass out.

So today was pretty uneventful. First item on the agenda was to get an XL double double from Tim Horton's. When I'm abroad, I actually have dreams about Tim Horton's. That can't be healthy. I replaced my red roots backpack. The zipper broke somewhere in Europe and it took me a year to replace the damn thing. Bought several cans of pea soup. Yet another vice of mine that is not carried in forgien countries. Helped an extremely elderly man off the subway and took him to the currency exchange at Yonge and Bloor. Now I'm about to make dinner.

To update on my summer concert interary; I now have tickets to three of Hanson's dates for the summer promo tour. I for sure will be attending Boston, Rhode Island, NYC. Probably more as dates are released. And yes I realize exactly how far gone I am. This is also including Cary Brothers, Billy Talent and Muse.

I would also like say a word of warning to anyone who ever plan on visiting China. In China, this is what they call a toilet. But if you're smart, you can tell what type establishments exclusively have 'Chinese Style' and which also have 'Western Style'.

And yes, I know I talk about toilets at length to a point where it makes people question my sanity. But I've listened to people discuss to great lengths about the price of shoe laces. We've all got issues.

Anyway; the next time I venture outside what I consider home, the 3 people that read my blog will be the first to know the truth about it. I've never been to Boston or Rhode Island. Any reccomendations?

ashleychurchill@hotmail.com

Peace out!

AC

I am writing this particular entry 5 hours into my 15 hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney. Not as bad as I originally thought. While there have already been four screaming babies (They actually whaled in unison with eachother for a while. Its like the rehearsed ahead of time or something.) I think its going to be a pleasent flight.

While I was starting to dig my nails into my own skin as the flight was delayed over an hour and a half. I was releived at how spacious and comfortable the cabin was. Normally, its such a tight squeese that I start to suspect that I have accute clostrophobia. But the Qantas plane was enormous (With two floors) and its very underbooked. So the remainder of the 15 hours should go by quite swimmingly.

As for what I'm actually going to do in Sydney, I haven't decided yet. I'll figure it out when I have to. I really don't mind what I get myself into. I'd absolutely love to work on a film or television series, but with no contacts in Australia, that may be just a pipe dream.

The first order of business in Sydney is going to the Sydney Opera House. It is a contender for the next selection of the 7 Wonders of the World. To date, I have visited 7 (the Sydney Opera House will be number 8) of the 21 landmarks up for consideration.

What i will get out of this experience is as much of a mystery to me as it is anyone. One thing that I'm positive about is that tanktops and snorkaling in December is a phenomenon that I very much want to be a part of.

Anyway, I better take a hit of Visine and get back to my Movie on Demand (The Devil Wears Prada)

Peace Out.

AC