'Distance to Destination: 10, 498km'Los Angeles International Airport, Terminal 2 August 27, 8:35pm
Waiting to board the plane. Starting to get heavy nerves ... I hate flying. Feel a bit twitchy and anxious. Perhaps 'apprehensive' would be the right word.
About 22 hours and I'll be there. That's less than a day, which is a comforting thought. Then again, it's 22 hours, which seems like a heck of a long time.
I'm flying out of Gate 25 and it's very crowded. People everywhere. Another Air New Zealand flight to Auckland is boarding at the next gate over. That's a relief to me somehow, that I won't be in the only airplane speeding its way to the Southern Hemisphere this evening ...
Seat 39D, Air New Zealand August 28
Flying somewhere over Nukulalufa or some such. I'm also flying close to Taveumi and Nadi, where ever the hell that is. All I know is that I'm somewhere over the Pacific and getting very close now.
Got some poor quality sleep, mostly due to being uncomfortable -- they do not provide a whole lot of leg room in coach class seating. Luckily no one is sitting beside me, so I can stretch out over two seats instead of just one. Aisle seating is essential too. No getting smushed up against an airplane window for 13 hours for me! Easy access to toilets is also pretty essential. You'd be surprised how much you have to pee over such a long flight.
2 hours and 37 minutes to destination #1 in Auckland. Then another lay over, another longish flight and bam! I'm there, in Australia!
... The thought of yet another flight after this one is daunting -- mainly because I'm exhausted -- but it will be nice to finally get there. All this planning and waiting around and hoping for something great, and it will all finally be revealed to me. It's anxiety inducing but also exhilarating at the same time. I could be making a total mistake in coming and spending my savings on this trip. Somehow I doubt it, though ...
Auckland International Airport August 29, 7:?? am
I made it! Flight was (thankfully) uneventful and clocked in at 12.5 hours.
Had to go through security again once I got to New Zealand. They confiscated my toothpaste and deodorant (nicely, and with apologies), but luckily they didn't take my $200 worth of makeup I just bought in Santa Barbara before I left.
1 more flight and I'm there!! Finally! After all this waiting and nerves, my goal is almost in sight. I have all these worries ... will my baggage get checked through, will my friend recognize me at the airport after seven years, how will we get along, how jet lagged am I going to be ...? Lots of stresses, but as my friend Jack pointed out yesterday in California, enjoy the moment. So okay, I'll savor the uncertainty of it all. Who knows how it'll go, but it's in my power to make a wonderful trip for myself and that's all that really matters. I have the capability to make or break situations -- those that are in my control, of course.
The airport is nice here. Bright, full of shops (2 Duty Frees diagonal to each other, gift shops, etc.), lots of families and big windows overlooking the runways. Lots of foreigners, too. Either there are lots of Chinese people here, or else a flight just disembarked from that country.
I was doing my makeup in the bathroom here, and some Asian girls just off the airplane kept looking at me funny. Was I inadvertently being rude? A cultural gaffe on my part? I felt a little bit better after one of the girls brushed her teeth in the public sink. I feel slightly less rude now. At least I wasn't spitting in to the same spot where people wash their hands. I was only applying foundation in a mirror.
Oh, and also, everyone looks healthy here. Not tan, but rosy cheeked and outdoorsy. Kind of like everyone in California, only to a greater degree. Lots of sensible, sportily dressed types. No wonder everyone thinks Americans are fat -- we are in comparison to these people!
I'm hungry but don't have the correct currency to buy anything. Funny feeling ...
Funny sign on a trash can: Please Do Not Spit / Use Toilets.
Gross.
Ok, about to board my flight for BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA ... goal is now in sight!
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