The Journey has Begun: Day One

Day one; June 18, 2013. Today is the beginning, our adventure has started. Either the whole idea of everything that is happening and going to further happen has already hit me in a much more casual fashion than I imagined in my previous blog or it has not hit me yet.

I woke up this morning at 2 o’clock AM. Two AM! That is roughly two hours of sleep. In the long run, a little lack of sleep is worth it. Once my family and I were ready and I rechecked my luggage, we headed off to El Cerrito High School. Following Don’s instructions we arrived at the school at 3:20 AM. He proceeded to weigh bags and hand out flyers.

He weighed my bag at only about 31 pounds! (Although when I checked it in at the terminal it was about 36 pounds.) I feel under packed. I was stressing out about my bag being overweight when I theoretically could have packed a few more items. Well, at least now I know that I have room (weight wise) if I want to bring any miscellaneous stuff home with me.

At about 4:30, after pictures were taken and goodbyes were said, the airport shuttle arrived. The shuttle turned out to be more like a large bus. I ended up sitting next to Tomi Balogun from the Cornell cohort. We had a pleasant, yet interesting, conversation.

Once we reached our terminal and checked our bags in, the rest of the boarding process was rather uneventful. We found our Gate and got some food. The plane began boarding at seven AM. We flew Virgin America which is new for me because I have only ever flown Alaska Airlines. Virgin America is interesting because at the back of each seat is a touch screen with a ton of things you can do to keep yourself entertained. There is a ‘seat-too-seat chat’ feature and at one point members of the cohort began messaging each other.

Unfortunately, when our flight tickets were purchased the flight was already relatively full so we were unable to sit together. We were close, just not next to each other. I lucked out with my seating assignment. I had seat 6E, a middle seat but nobody sat to my right! I then scooted over and made myself comfy with a window seat.

After landing and gathering our luggage we headed outside to the van that would take us to our hotel. Being in New York City for the first time was such a surreal moment. It was raining when we landed but it was still humid and roughly 80 or so degrees outside. Today was the first time I have seen people walking around in shorts and short sleeve shirts while it was raining. 

During the car ride to the Beacon Hotel we experienced our first glimpse as a cohort of the City That Never Sleeps. It was breathtaking (or it would have been if I could fathom that we are actually here). Due to the unfortunate weather the city was blanketed in a cloud of fog.

At roughly 8 o'clock we headed off to dinner. We ate at Keens Steakhouse. The chefs at this restaurant have harnessed the power of magic and used it to make their food. They could rule the world if they wanted to.


















After all of the excitement and fun of today, I can't wait for the rest or our adventure. I can't wait for what tomorrow will bring!