Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good flight!

7 hours in and what a trip it has been already... The day started off really well - I had a travel themed Christmas morning, including an iPad case, Apple adapter, over the shoulder bag, new teacher-clothes, a Singapore guide book - oh, and a CAT camera (thanks Chlo!) Needless to say it was a wonderful way to start the trip of a lifetime...

The Iglesias family came over for a delicious Christmas dinner, and I mastered the twice baked potato yet again (can't wait to continue making those at every party I ever have!) We attempted to play a windy game of darts and failed, but it was a great afternoon none the less.

When it was about time to hit the road to LAX, I said my goodbyes to Mom and Dad and headed out with Cor and Chlo to pick up Mike from Topanga Canyon and make our way to the airport.  They got to experience an amazing Newsom family jam session, jumped in right away harmonizing and singing along to almost every song - it was a really awesome way to spend my last few hours in the states.

The drive to the airport was sad, I started getting cold feet and wanting to turn around or have their be some block in the road - which apparently wasn't too far off, the 405 is having another closure today so good luck California.

We said our goodbyes, first Cory then Chlo Chlo followed by Mike - who said I can't come home unless I travel to three places other than Singapore during my trip...

I got through check-in/security really quickly, although had I been flying to Mexico that would not have been the case; the line was so long to check in they had TSA elves escorting people outside to clear up the line a bit - it was crazy! So many kids, parents, grandparents and big families... Merry Christmas to all and to all a good flight!

Wish I could say that my flight has been good - it started with me finding my seat, unpacking my book, and plugging in my headphones (which I've since LOST but that reason will come later). I proceeded to start crying so hard that I had to take deep breaths, constantly wipe my watery eyes and listen to Pentatonix and "read" at the same time (I'll most likely be re-reading that first chapter). Keep in mind this was before the plane even started moving.  People probably thought I was crazy, or that my book was really sad - which is what I was going for - but it had all just hit me that this was real, and happening and it was happening NOW.  Those few favorite things are not with me, I'm alone and I'm scared, but mostly I'm so excited for this opportunity of a lifetime that I will never have the chance to do again.  What if I blink and it's February 1st? I need to keep my eyes open...

Which I didn't do because after the cry session and take off, I fell asleep and missed the first round of drinks (I just wanted water is was so thirsty!) So I wake up about 45 minutes in to find them already handing out our first meal, fried rice or fried noodle. I chose the noodles and received a decent looking chow mein dish with a little side salad and a water - not too bad, or so I thought.

And this is where it gets really good: after eating my meal and making it through about an hour of The Great Gatsby, I started sweating uncontrollably and panting, feeling like I was going to pass out in my seat. I annoy my neighbors (now I regret choosing that window seat), and literally climb over them to proceed in running to the bathroom, losing my headphones somewhere along the way, and throwing up for about 10 minutes.  I thought I felt better until 30 minutes later I did the same thing... Flashbacks to our flight to New York, am I right Cory? - except I was able to make it to a bathroom, thank goodness.

So sorry to share the details, but it has not been the great start to the trip that I imagined. After round two though I slept for about 4 hours, and am now 7.5 hours into the first 13 hour leg... Over half way there! I won't post this until I arrive in Beijing (barring internet access, but I sure hope so for my sake). But I couldn't wait to share my story with you all -  wish I could've had SOMEONE here with me ;)

There's a big band from LA on this flight, going to play 6 shows in 10 days in Beijing.  They were all so nice when we waited in line to board - we bonded over music and they told me to join their band after I finished teaching.  I love people.  I also met a wonderful family in line in security, a mother, father, and three little, little, girls. The youngest was in mom's arms, the middle in dad's, and the oldest running the show as they unpacked all of their belongings into security - it looked pretty familiar.  I realized that my view of the world is about to be completely changed, eyes wide open I know that I'll see a lot of differences, but so far what I've seen is a lot of the same.  A family traveling together with little kids, all excited as the parents dread the TSA line.  A group of musicians traveling for the performance experience of a lifetime.   Reflections of my favorite things are going to be with me the whole way, and I have to let myself see them... Because even though I know things will be different, a lot of things around the world are the same - family, love, music, excitement, celebration, learning - all things that I know I will still be able to experience on this adventure.

With that I'll through in my final use of the pun (I couldn't resist), continue to watch my movie (good thing I brought two pairs of headphones!), and hopefully get to sleep again for at least a little bit of the second half of this eventful trip.  Ideally no more trips to the bathroom, and for my sake, I'll likely skip meal number two and just have some Ginger Ale.  Love you all, my next post will be from Singapore!!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good flight! ;)