View from my balcony
My awesome parents got passes (after listening to the airport kiosk worker’s life story…and son’s life story) to go through security and see me off at the gate in San Diego! I had to get patted down and go through the body scanner machine for extra security measures, but I think I may have done that to myself. I’m pretty sure I walked over there thinking it was the normal line. Oh well! After the scan, they checked my watch and….drumroll please….it was not a weapon. Then I sat at the gate, ate my CPK pizza (thanks Mom!), and hurried to finish my University of Virginia moral code test. I blame Dad for the last-minute tendencies I sometimes exhibit. :) On the flight, I was sitting next to 2 other college aged girls who took up only one seat each and did not smell-- 2 of my airplane pet peeves avoided, whew! Take-off and landing were a bit unnerving considering the size of my carry-on backpack, its inability to even begin to fit under the seat in front of me (let alone below my feet), and the requirement that “all carry-on bags must be stowed in an overhead bin or be completely under the seat in front of you.” For the 15 minutes before take-off and landing, I pretty much had my hands glued to my backpack because I was “getting something out” but yes, I would push it under the seat when I was finished. Thank goodness I was sneaky enough to get away with it!
For the first hour, I wrote in my journal a bit, gazed out the window into the dark night sky speckled with bright stars, and enjoyed just SITTING with nothing to do—I can’t even remember the last time I was able to do that! I’ve been so busy with planning and paperwork and studying for finals and moving out and packing that this was the first time I could finally catch my breath! I was thinking about starting my required reading (to be completed before I board the ship in 3 days…that currently remains untouched) on the flight, but that plan didn’t work out very well. Before I knew it, I had conked out and was waking up to the sight of THE most GORGEOUS sunrise!! It was JUST what I needed as a little encouragement. :) At that point, the flight only had about 30 minutes left. Needless to say, The Triumph of the City didn’t get touched. Actually I take that back- I did use it as a writing surface under my journal if that counts as anything! As expected, I pulled out my camera and started snapping away. The beauty of the sunrise couldn’t even be captured; the colors were so deep, it was almost surreal!
So as the plane was starting to descend, I realized I needed to turn off my iPod that somehow ended up underneath me. Well, I pulled it out only to find that it was covered in my favorite thing- chocolate. Melted. ALL over. And since it was all over the iPod…which was underneath me…that only meant one thing- chocolate ALL over my pants. Julia gets the smooth award for the week! I completely forgot I had eaten some of the chocolate that my amazing roomie Syd gave me (thank you!!), and must have put it in my lap to save for later. Anyway, thank goodness for the free Continental blankets (with water) that served as napkins. After some awkward looks while I was cleaning, it all came out!
Now my layover in Newark is almost over and we’re boarding the plane soon. I thought I’d be sleeping, but instead I’ve been eating and talking on the phone (shout out to Patrick who was up from 3 to 4 am to talk to me!!). My body is so thrown off and confused as to what time it is and if it should be eating or sleeping or what! (Boarding again, I’ll finish later!)
Kristie & I during our layover in Newark!
I’m finally in my hotel room, laying on the bed, SOOO relieved that I made it with all my luggage! Since I didn’t get my required reading done on the first flight, I was planning on doing it on the second flight. And some blogging. And writing in my journal. And listening to music. Well, I was on page 8 of the book and before I knew it I was waking up to the “prepare-for-landing” announcements. I shouldn’t have even bothered making plans for productivity during the flight. We had to fill out paperwork on the plane since we were entering a new country, so I rushed to do that and got off the plane. SO HUMID. Within a matter of seconds, I had gone from chilly with goosebumps to absolutely sweating. And the 5-ton backpack, big camera bag, and 3 blankets I had acquired…along with the sweater I was wearing…didn’t make me feel much better.
After walking ten miles to the immigration room and waiting in lines for 20 hours, I was able to go to the baggage claim. THANKFULLY both my bags had arrived! Now came the scary part- taking a taxi to the hotel! I was lucky to be traveling with Kristie, so we could do things together. It was both of our first times traveling this far (and internationally) alone! We walked out with our giants suitcases, wandered around for about 10 minutes until we couldn’t drag our bags any longer, then decided to stop being “men” and just ask for help. ;) We were lucky to get a nice taxi driver, but we felt so bad watching him try to fit our luggage into the trunk! It literally took over 20 minutes (no exaggeration this time!). Finally, he ended up putting a bag in the front seat and we were off. The paper hanging from his mirror said the rate was $50…so we were just going to suck it up and split it. But when we got there he told us it was $18 for the ride, and $4 per bag. Much better than we expected! Check-in also took awhile but we were just glad to be at the hotel. We got into our room and realized we were in paradise! The hotel is SO nice. We have a view of both the hotel resort and pools, along with the beach just beyond it. I am SO lucky to be here! For the rest of today, we’re probably just going to relax and get our bodies adjusted after traveling for so long and the time change. The next 2 days will consist of recovering from finals and traveling by RELAXING and having fun! This hotel (the Sheraton) is the one discounted by Semester at Sea, so hopefully I’ll get to meet some other SASers before I board the ship! :)
View from my bed = paradise!!!
I’ll have internet at the hotel until Thursday night, so feel free to email me at my gmail address- jtaft22@gmail.com. I also might be able to use this email while in port if I find wifi. However, on the ship I will NOT have internet access at all and will have only an email provided by Semester at Sea. I haven’t received it yet (I will on Friday, and I’ll post it here), but it will MOST likely be jltaft@semesteratsea.net. That’s all for now- it’s time for Julia to shower and nap and enjoy the beautiful Bahamas! I miss you all already!
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