Day 1: Washington D.C.
I spent the last day and a half on a plane or in the airport feeling excited, tired, and hungry all at the same time. Even as I check in my luggage and begin to board the plane, it still hasn't hit me. Two assignments loom over my head: I'm not done with finals week just quite yet!
On the airplane towards D.C., I put on the complimentary sleeping mask and immediately blacked out. I had the misfortune of sitting in the middle seat, so I had to awkwardly sleep in an unnatural upright position. To say the very least, it was extremely difficult! However, I eventually got some sleep, albeit poorly, and the rest of the flight flew by.
Next was my five hour layover in New York. Fun.
I spent my time in the New York airport working on my assignments and managed to get them all complete, save for one final part. This air port happened to have birds flying to and fro, gathering scraps of bread and dropped food when the terminal was empty. I snapped a photo of one right before the terminal one again filled up with people.
After hours of waiting and boarding being delayed by a half hour, I was finally in the plane, eyes heavy and ready for a short nap. Aaaand that's what I did on this flight. Sleep. Apparently the flight steward gave me some chips, because I woke up with some vegetable chips on my lap. Interesting.
When I got off the plane, I had but only an hour to get to the hotel from the airport, and quickly downloaded uber onto my phone and called in a car to reach my hotel, where some other RLASP students were checking in. I got my room key, got into my room, took a shower and brushed my teeth, and immediately headed back downstairs to meet up with the rest of the group to walk together to the American Councils office for our first day of orientation.
Orientation was interesting: we discussed our assumptions, questions, qualities to have while abroad, and our concerns about the trip and got our (!!!) passports back, with a Kazakh visa in each of them. Then, we talked about some things to be aware of in terms of cultural differences and how to deal with culture shock. We get some Mediterranean food (rice, chicken, hummus, falafel) and are released to go back to the hotel and get some rest for tomorrow. One of the things I noted down was to bring some food back to my host family in the event that I have extra food from an event. This reminds me of my mom, how she always wants to try some food or drink that my sister or I have, even if just to get a taste of it.
Walking back to the hotel, cars are honking their horns everywhere. I'm convinced they are playing some game that I'm not aware of! Back at the hotel I finish my final assignment and e-mail it to my instructor. I am finally finished with finals and spring term! It's currently 8:07pm and suddenly all energy is seeped from my body. I feel fatigued and more than ready to get a good night's rest. Breakfast is from 7-8am, so my day starts relatively normally, yet I still do not realize the fact that I'm actually on this trip right now.
I'm looking at some of my pictures that I took and forgot to describe my room: it's a fairly large, strangely laid-out room. There are three of us in a room and we each have our own bed, which is certainly of larger proportions than the bed that I have back in my dorm room.
The room itself is located at the end of the hallway, in a very strange place, as if the architectures were not sure they knew what they wanted to do when they constructed the building. We even have a tiny kitchen!
On the airplane towards D.C., I put on the complimentary sleeping mask and immediately blacked out. I had the misfortune of sitting in the middle seat, so I had to awkwardly sleep in an unnatural upright position. To say the very least, it was extremely difficult! However, I eventually got some sleep, albeit poorly, and the rest of the flight flew by.
Next was my five hour layover in New York. Fun.
I spent my time in the New York airport working on my assignments and managed to get them all complete, save for one final part. This air port happened to have birds flying to and fro, gathering scraps of bread and dropped food when the terminal was empty. I snapped a photo of one right before the terminal one again filled up with people.
After hours of waiting and boarding being delayed by a half hour, I was finally in the plane, eyes heavy and ready for a short nap. Aaaand that's what I did on this flight. Sleep. Apparently the flight steward gave me some chips, because I woke up with some vegetable chips on my lap. Interesting.
When I got off the plane, I had but only an hour to get to the hotel from the airport, and quickly downloaded uber onto my phone and called in a car to reach my hotel, where some other RLASP students were checking in. I got my room key, got into my room, took a shower and brushed my teeth, and immediately headed back downstairs to meet up with the rest of the group to walk together to the American Councils office for our first day of orientation.
Orientation was interesting: we discussed our assumptions, questions, qualities to have while abroad, and our concerns about the trip and got our (!!!) passports back, with a Kazakh visa in each of them. Then, we talked about some things to be aware of in terms of cultural differences and how to deal with culture shock. We get some Mediterranean food (rice, chicken, hummus, falafel) and are released to go back to the hotel and get some rest for tomorrow. One of the things I noted down was to bring some food back to my host family in the event that I have extra food from an event. This reminds me of my mom, how she always wants to try some food or drink that my sister or I have, even if just to get a taste of it.
Walking back to the hotel, cars are honking their horns everywhere. I'm convinced they are playing some game that I'm not aware of! Back at the hotel I finish my final assignment and e-mail it to my instructor. I am finally finished with finals and spring term! It's currently 8:07pm and suddenly all energy is seeped from my body. I feel fatigued and more than ready to get a good night's rest. Breakfast is from 7-8am, so my day starts relatively normally, yet I still do not realize the fact that I'm actually on this trip right now.
RLASP 2k18I'm looking at some of my pictures that I took and forgot to describe my room: it's a fairly large, strangely laid-out room. There are three of us in a room and we each have our own bed, which is certainly of larger proportions than the bed that I have back in my dorm room.
The room itself is located at the end of the hallway, in a very strange place, as if the architectures were not sure they knew what they wanted to do when they constructed the building. We even have a tiny kitchen!
Hello my dear son and thank you for the blog. I presume you're tired but manage to have a long blog just to let everybody knows how's your day went by. Thank you. I am glad that your final papers/homework done. Ka tulog og sayo aron maka mata ka ugma og sayo ;) Nag mahal - imong inahan <3
ReplyDeleteHello son. Have a goo trip, have lots of fun, and take lots of pictures to bring back home with all your stories. Love you, Dad. See you soon.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear your initial challenges on-board :(
ReplyDeleteWish you were in business class hehehe anyway, I know how it is to have an adventure and the excitement and awesome story you can pen behind it... so , get your camera ready and capture everything rare and special :) have a real good time and safe journey! hugs..