So I’m not sure if you could guess this from the title, but I am actually writing this from the North Pole! (Side note for Amanda and Dalton- I am obviously listening to B.O.B for inspiration). Okay, technically I haven’t looked out the windows to determine my exact coordinates but I’m just going to guess I’m somewhere in the Artic…. I would know exactly where I was if our stupidly large airplane had the fancy trackers you can watch your plane on a map between movies. But it doesn’t. I still can’t get over that. Every Delta flight I’ve been on this summer has had those! Not Asia.
So I’m going to tell you about yesterday and stuff but first I know you are going to ask me what they served on the airplane ( well, at least Maggie is). Dinner/Lunch/First meal was interesting. We received a menu at the beginning of the flight telling us what it was. Hold on- let me grab it. Okay- yeah, the “appetizer” was shrimp cocktail, “salad” was “seasonal green salad with cucumbers,” literally exactly that served with Ken’s Lite Ranch Dressing like at Johnny’s. The entrée choices were: “Sliced beef served with Thai coconut sauce” or “Asian soy chicken breast with carrots and steamed rice.” I really wanted sliced beef. But I was handed chicken. Apparently they were just kidding about my choice. I think I somehow was the last row served in the plane even though I’m sitting in the middle of the plane. Unfortunately, I’m too perfectly centered so they started behind me and all the way in the front of me. Oh well. The chicken was okay, the salad was fine, and the shrimp cocktail was pretty good. Now, I’m waiting for my “mid-flight snack.” I’m starving for some reason. Oh, guess what. The wait is over. I just got my snack. You may think that I am just typing this to humor you but I literally just got my snack. It’s an apple, a slider size sandwich with who knows what in it (I haven’t checked yet) and Milano cookies. Okay- for breakfast/dinner/last meal on this flight before we land in Tokyo we get seasonal fresh fruit, bread and butter, orange juice and a choice between: a pepper jack cheese omelet, roasted potatoes, and a pork sausage link OR shrimp fried rice! In case we can’t decide which is more appealing after sleeping/watching movies/reading/writing blogs on a 12+ hour plane ride.
Also for Maggie- the movies so far: The Joneses, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Ghost Writer. I know, not one of those was ones I mentioned from my list.
Anyway, yesterday ended up being a pretty good day. After getting on the airplane in Atlanta I felt pretty okay. I had a window seat and even though I said goodbye to everyone and I was really sad I didn’t feel like crying. And then I made a huge mistake. Like an idiot, I opened that journal. And then I started blubbering all over myself in seat 12A. I literally had to stop. I couldn’t see anymore and I had snot running down my face without a tissue. Graphic? Maybe. But at least you didn’t have to experience it. At least when I closed that book I was able to close the emotions. I stopped crying, wiped snot on my pants, cleaned my glasses, and put my seat forward for landing. I made it alive and there was no point in crying about anything in Philly. After all, I was only a thirty-minute car ride and a two-hour plane ride from home and I am very used to being that far away. So, I gathered my luggage from the luggage carousel by myself. I carried it all the way to the taxi area and got to the hotel no problem. I take that back, the taxi cost 40 dollars with tip and I didn’t have cash so it was almost a problem. So then there was staging and Peace Corps stuff. It was basically a two hour registration (hard core though, apparently if you didn’t have your paperwork filled out properly you got sent to the back of the line, no that did not happen to me! Jeez) followed by a five-hour meeting on why we are all there. It was okay. They split us up in two groups of about 40 or so and I got a chance to talk to most of the people in that group. I also got a chance to bond and meet some really great people so far. It’s funny how long yet fast 12 hours can be when you are meeting people for the first time. So by the end of the day I was sitting with two girls sharing a meal, realizing that I’m going to be just fine. (the sandwich was turkey).
I miss you all and love you and will write soon J
