The Journey Begins...
*Note: I wrote a lot of these posts awhile ago, but I'm only just posting them now.
March 23, 2012--
6:05p: I leave my family at the security gate. I won't see them for 8mo. Somehow I manage to do this without tears. It occurs to me how awkward I am at giving hugs. After going through I don't look back because I know I will cry.
6:10p: already thru security. They have a freakin' yoga lounge there. I consider going into it, but my flight boards at 6:15. Gotta get to my gate.
6:25p: I'm in the last boarding group and stand there, waiting with my backpacks on. Time to go to LA.
6:45(ish): I turn off my phone, so I don't know what time it is anymore. But my flight is supposed to leave around now. I vow not to fall asleep because I need to save my sleep for my long flight.
8:05p: we touch down in LA. I don't even remember taking off. Apparently I fell asleep. Damn. Now I gotta find the gate for my connecting flight. According to the website it's in another terminal. I hope I don't get lost.
8:10p: I asked a ticketing agent where I was supposed to go and she pointed me to a gate only 5 away from the one I came out of. And lo and behold, it's the right one. Well, that was easy. Now, to entertain myself for 3 hours.
8:15p: I'm all settled in and I realize there's no free wifi or cell service here. Or electrical outlets. What heck LAX?! You're a huge international airport! The only outlets are 4 "mobile charging stations" and those only have 4 outlets each.
8:25p: after walking the entire terminal I settle down in a gate that at least has cell phone service. I decide to take out my computer and try for wifi even though my phone won't connect. And what do you know?! I somehow connect to the Internet! Thank god. Now I can waste 3 hours on Facebook.
10:59p: somehow those 2.5 hrs pass by altogether too quickly. I say my unsatisfactory goodbyes to those I was chatting online with and then go to my gate.
11:05p: the plane starts boarding. Holy shit guys, I'm going to Australia
11:25p(ish): once again, I don't have my phone so I don't know exactly what time it is. Turns out my seat is on between 2 middle aged Australian guys who came to orange county for a week for business. It's awkward cause they know each other and I'm squished in between them. They're nice enough though and tell me a bit about Queensland and Melbourne. Apparently they also spent their last night in the States in Las Vegas and had a bit too much fun. There's nothing in Australia even remotely like it, they say. And, I learn the flight is only 13hrs! Hooray! The online ticket was wrong.
After 11:50p: the plane takes off. I l is it takes offsite because it takes forever. My neighbors tell me that it isn't too hard to adjust to Australian time, provided I dont sleep for the first 5-6hrs. I'm super tired, but that might be possible thanks to a messed up sleeping schedule from finals and a good selections of movies to watch.
Sometime later: "dinner" is served and I decide to watch "the artist" first since its a silent film. I've been wanting to see it for awhile and I figure I better watch it early, while I'm still awake enough to watch the silent film. I can hardly finish my dinner though because my body is rebelling against eating at such an abnormal hour. I force myself to finish though, b/c the next meal won't be served for 10 hours.
2:30a: the artist wasn't bad, although not as good as I thought it would be. The dog is adorable though! Just like my doggie. :) Drive is up next because I feel myself getting sleepy and I figure I need an action film to keep myself going.
3:00a: so... This movie is not an action film at all. But I like it. And I finally understand why people think Ryan gosling is hot. He's pretty cool in this movie. Didn't really like him in the notebook though.
4:00a: I get in trouble for writing this on my phone because the flight attendant thinks I'm texting. Whoops! Haha.
4:30a: I really liked Drive! I wish I could have heard it better though. But the earphone jack is 2-pronged and my earbuds are not, so sound only comes out one ear. Seriously getting sleepy but I decide to watch Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy instead of sleeping. I've been wanting to see this movie for awhile.
5:00a: I have no idea what's going on because every time I blink I fall asleep. I try to fight it, but to no avail. Might as well give in then!
6:35a: the movie ends. I slept thru the whole thing. I will rewatch it when I wake up. Again. Why am I so hot?
9:39a: after a few fitful hours I sleep my neighbors get up to use the bathroom and I use the opportunity to do so too. I'm still tired, but they're not sleeping so I decide to listen to the radio. As I'm flipping they the channels I hear a lot of tall radio (don't bother to listen to what they're talking about) and one popular music channel. And then some cheesy love music, but the host is talking about John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Sukiyaki by () comes on. It was the one song he could karaoke in Japanese. It only reminds me of NSU banquet last year. I'm so sad going to be missing this year's.
11:18a: I start Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy over again. It already makes much more sense. The guy next to me is looking out the window and while there's still nothing to see the sky is a dark dark blue instead of pitch black.
12:00p: they serve us breakfast. I get the hot breakfast even though I'm not really hungry and I know it's going to be those plastic scrambled eggs. The spinach is a green unrecognizable mush. But the dude next to me eats everything like there's no tomorrow. He did the same tying with dinner. By now my movie still doesn't make much more sense, but the Australian sky is beginning to lighten considerably. I can see clouds!
1:00p(ish): So yeah. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy didn't make any sense. I think it's cause I can barely hear their British accents through these earphones. I'm pretty tired and my knees are starting to feel oddly stuck in a bent position. I don't know how those large men on either side of me are doing it.
1:30p: The pilot tells us that we are beginning our descent. The sky is light enough now that I can make out shapes and find the contour of the land. I catch my first glimpse of Australia! I can't help but think that for the men next to me it's a homecoming, but for me it's something completely foreign.
1:50p: We land in Brisbane! It's the smoothest landing in a plane I've ever experienced. I was chatting with my neighbor and didn't even notice when the wheels touched down. The descent into the airport was amazing. I got some really good views of sandbars, mangroves, and the clear blue waters.
2:10p: I meet up with the guy who was sitting in front of me, who also happens to be on the program. There were also 2 other people on our flight and we meet up in the customs line. I have to drag my heavy baggage through and I'm feeling a little self-conscious about how much I brought. But then I'm reminded that I'm here for 5 more months than everyone else, and I only have a duffel bag more than they do.
2:15p: We make it through customs (I had to declare my Girl Scout cookies that I brought for my host family) and meet up with the rest of the group that has already arrived! We sit and wait around for another few hours for the rest of the people to get in. Everyone is super tired and hot (from dragging baggage around), but we're all excited and happy to be here. It's 7:15a local time in Brisbane.
My day isn't even close to ending because they want us to get used to the time change. I won't bore you with every little detail of everything we did, but I didn't go to sleep until around 11p. After most of the group arrived we took taxis back to a hostel called Brisbane Backpackers. We got our rooms, dropped off our stuff, and then got to know each other a bit while waiting for lunch to be served. We then headed into the city, escorted by one of our professors, John. He's the terrestrial ecology expert, with a focus on plants. Brisbane is such a cute city. We walked through the street market, there was a free museum, and then we wandered around the city proper. I bought myself a 3mo cell phone plan and exchanged some of my money for Australian tender. Their money is so pretty! Once we were done running errands we headed back to the hostel for dinner and sleep.
I'm writing this only a few days after the fact, but so much happened (and I was so sleep deprived) I probably have only captured a fraction of what actually happened. There are only 16 of us on the program (there's normally 30-40) so I think by the time this trip is over we'll all know each other pretty well. I can't wait to see what lies ahead!
March 23, 2012--
6:05p: I leave my family at the security gate. I won't see them for 8mo. Somehow I manage to do this without tears. It occurs to me how awkward I am at giving hugs. After going through I don't look back because I know I will cry.
6:10p: already thru security. They have a freakin' yoga lounge there. I consider going into it, but my flight boards at 6:15. Gotta get to my gate.
6:25p: I'm in the last boarding group and stand there, waiting with my backpacks on. Time to go to LA.
6:45(ish): I turn off my phone, so I don't know what time it is anymore. But my flight is supposed to leave around now. I vow not to fall asleep because I need to save my sleep for my long flight.
8:05p: we touch down in LA. I don't even remember taking off. Apparently I fell asleep. Damn. Now I gotta find the gate for my connecting flight. According to the website it's in another terminal. I hope I don't get lost.
8:10p: I asked a ticketing agent where I was supposed to go and she pointed me to a gate only 5 away from the one I came out of. And lo and behold, it's the right one. Well, that was easy. Now, to entertain myself for 3 hours.
8:15p: I'm all settled in and I realize there's no free wifi or cell service here. Or electrical outlets. What heck LAX?! You're a huge international airport! The only outlets are 4 "mobile charging stations" and those only have 4 outlets each.
8:25p: after walking the entire terminal I settle down in a gate that at least has cell phone service. I decide to take out my computer and try for wifi even though my phone won't connect. And what do you know?! I somehow connect to the Internet! Thank god. Now I can waste 3 hours on Facebook.
10:59p: somehow those 2.5 hrs pass by altogether too quickly. I say my unsatisfactory goodbyes to those I was chatting online with and then go to my gate.
11:05p: the plane starts boarding. Holy shit guys, I'm going to Australia
11:25p(ish): once again, I don't have my phone so I don't know exactly what time it is. Turns out my seat is on between 2 middle aged Australian guys who came to orange county for a week for business. It's awkward cause they know each other and I'm squished in between them. They're nice enough though and tell me a bit about Queensland and Melbourne. Apparently they also spent their last night in the States in Las Vegas and had a bit too much fun. There's nothing in Australia even remotely like it, they say. And, I learn the flight is only 13hrs! Hooray! The online ticket was wrong.
After 11:50p: the plane takes off. I l is it takes offsite because it takes forever. My neighbors tell me that it isn't too hard to adjust to Australian time, provided I dont sleep for the first 5-6hrs. I'm super tired, but that might be possible thanks to a messed up sleeping schedule from finals and a good selections of movies to watch.
Sometime later: "dinner" is served and I decide to watch "the artist" first since its a silent film. I've been wanting to see it for awhile and I figure I better watch it early, while I'm still awake enough to watch the silent film. I can hardly finish my dinner though because my body is rebelling against eating at such an abnormal hour. I force myself to finish though, b/c the next meal won't be served for 10 hours.
2:30a: the artist wasn't bad, although not as good as I thought it would be. The dog is adorable though! Just like my doggie. :) Drive is up next because I feel myself getting sleepy and I figure I need an action film to keep myself going.
3:00a: so... This movie is not an action film at all. But I like it. And I finally understand why people think Ryan gosling is hot. He's pretty cool in this movie. Didn't really like him in the notebook though.
4:00a: I get in trouble for writing this on my phone because the flight attendant thinks I'm texting. Whoops! Haha.
4:30a: I really liked Drive! I wish I could have heard it better though. But the earphone jack is 2-pronged and my earbuds are not, so sound only comes out one ear. Seriously getting sleepy but I decide to watch Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy instead of sleeping. I've been wanting to see this movie for awhile.
5:00a: I have no idea what's going on because every time I blink I fall asleep. I try to fight it, but to no avail. Might as well give in then!
6:35a: the movie ends. I slept thru the whole thing. I will rewatch it when I wake up. Again. Why am I so hot?
9:39a: after a few fitful hours I sleep my neighbors get up to use the bathroom and I use the opportunity to do so too. I'm still tired, but they're not sleeping so I decide to listen to the radio. As I'm flipping they the channels I hear a lot of tall radio (don't bother to listen to what they're talking about) and one popular music channel. And then some cheesy love music, but the host is talking about John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Sukiyaki by () comes on. It was the one song he could karaoke in Japanese. It only reminds me of NSU banquet last year. I'm so sad going to be missing this year's.
11:18a: I start Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy over again. It already makes much more sense. The guy next to me is looking out the window and while there's still nothing to see the sky is a dark dark blue instead of pitch black.
12:00p: they serve us breakfast. I get the hot breakfast even though I'm not really hungry and I know it's going to be those plastic scrambled eggs. The spinach is a green unrecognizable mush. But the dude next to me eats everything like there's no tomorrow. He did the same tying with dinner. By now my movie still doesn't make much more sense, but the Australian sky is beginning to lighten considerably. I can see clouds!
1:00p(ish): So yeah. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy didn't make any sense. I think it's cause I can barely hear their British accents through these earphones. I'm pretty tired and my knees are starting to feel oddly stuck in a bent position. I don't know how those large men on either side of me are doing it.
1:30p: The pilot tells us that we are beginning our descent. The sky is light enough now that I can make out shapes and find the contour of the land. I catch my first glimpse of Australia! I can't help but think that for the men next to me it's a homecoming, but for me it's something completely foreign.
1:50p: We land in Brisbane! It's the smoothest landing in a plane I've ever experienced. I was chatting with my neighbor and didn't even notice when the wheels touched down. The descent into the airport was amazing. I got some really good views of sandbars, mangroves, and the clear blue waters.
2:10p: I meet up with the guy who was sitting in front of me, who also happens to be on the program. There were also 2 other people on our flight and we meet up in the customs line. I have to drag my heavy baggage through and I'm feeling a little self-conscious about how much I brought. But then I'm reminded that I'm here for 5 more months than everyone else, and I only have a duffel bag more than they do.
2:15p: We make it through customs (I had to declare my Girl Scout cookies that I brought for my host family) and meet up with the rest of the group that has already arrived! We sit and wait around for another few hours for the rest of the people to get in. Everyone is super tired and hot (from dragging baggage around), but we're all excited and happy to be here. It's 7:15a local time in Brisbane.
My day isn't even close to ending because they want us to get used to the time change. I won't bore you with every little detail of everything we did, but I didn't go to sleep until around 11p. After most of the group arrived we took taxis back to a hostel called Brisbane Backpackers. We got our rooms, dropped off our stuff, and then got to know each other a bit while waiting for lunch to be served. We then headed into the city, escorted by one of our professors, John. He's the terrestrial ecology expert, with a focus on plants. Brisbane is such a cute city. We walked through the street market, there was a free museum, and then we wandered around the city proper. I bought myself a 3mo cell phone plan and exchanged some of my money for Australian tender. Their money is so pretty! Once we were done running errands we headed back to the hostel for dinner and sleep.
I'm writing this only a few days after the fact, but so much happened (and I was so sleep deprived) I probably have only captured a fraction of what actually happened. There are only 16 of us on the program (there's normally 30-40) so I think by the time this trip is over we'll all know each other pretty well. I can't wait to see what lies ahead!