The First 24

5:56 June 10 Chicago O'hare

Nothing has felt what I expected so far. Now it only has been 6 small hours since kissing my parents goodbye in the terminal, but my emotions are not what I expected. 

Lets start at the beginning of the day. My sister woke me up to leave for work. We had our last goodbyes and I gave her tummy a little kiss and said good luck because the next time I see her she will have her little boy. My mom and I made the final touches on my packing arrangements and I was all ready to go. 

I hopped into the car with my mom and dad and headed for the airport. Panic started to set in as I realized, not that I was traveling alone, but that I was going to be in a metal object flying through the sky  across half of the earth. Yikes!

We arrived at the airport and did the usual check-in with no hassle. As I approached the  security check we took our final hugs, kisses, goodbyes, and of course pictures!

 I crossed the security check and could still see my parents waiving through the glass. As I turned to get on the tram I expected to burst with tears but instead I felt  completely calm. Not what I expected. 

I loaded my small plane to Chicago, met a friendly seat neighbor, discussed my upcoming journey, played candy crush, fought with skull candy headphone packaging (not the best idea making those things impenetrable In an airport where scissors can't assist you), and landed in Chicago.

For those of you who have not been to Chicago, this airport is huge. It took me a good 40 minutes to realize I had to exit security and bard a tram to get to the international terminal. The line to get through security was crazy!

After waiting for over an hour I was denied access because I needed my other birding pass reprinted. I just smiled when the lady told me, although inside I wanted to complain about the hour I'd have to waste again, and went back to get a new one. It turns out being polite goes a long way because when I returned she escorted me through the first class line. 

And now all there is to do is wait. I'm sitting in a Mexican restaurant rating a shrimp wrap, chips, salsa, and a little somethin' somethin' (haha dawn). Luckily, I have a hysterical waitress that has been keeping me entertained!

 9:33 Abu Dhabi 

I finally made it! 

 

 

After about 8,000 miles of flying, 8 time zones, and three meals later I stepped off the plane in a new world. On the plane I sat next to a very friendly lady from Kuwait. She did not speak English so we had a very hard time communicating, but after awhile we had a picture system that worked out pretty well. 

As we started to descend one of the most beautiful sunsets took place right outside my window. Unfortunately I was unable to get a picture at this point. For the first time in my life I knew what it felt like to be the minority. With the exception of two army men, I was the only white person on the plane. When going though customs it seemed that most of my flight had connecting fights. I shood at the passport area completely dumbfounded on where to go. I chose the line that seemed correct and slowly approached the fully Arabic dressed man at the booth. He immediately smiled with giant braces and welcomed me to the UAE.

From that moment on so far I have experienced the nicest hospitality of anywhere I have been. I was greeted by a hotel rep who quickly escorted me to my car and off to the hotel we went. 

Hotel check in went as smoothly as possible with everyone treating me like a princess. My room is giant with a beautiful view!

Complimentary snacks!

 Hotel hallways!

 My room

 

Hot bath all ready for me!

 And last the view from my balcony!

This still seems so unreal and I cannot wait to experience the city tomorrow. I will be enjoying every luxury I have here since  they will be non existent during my stay in Nepal!