January 3, 2013
My family and I went to Calgary, had lunch together at Olive Garden (which was rather disappointing), and then they sent me on my merry way to Ecuador. Well - first we went to Houston. Our flight was at 6:20 pm and seemed like the longest flight ever. I couldn't sleep! When we finally got to Houston it was around midnight - there were no stores or food open. Never forget that vending machines exists. And if you are lucky like me, your money won't be accepted and some kind hearted lady will give you two dollars for snacks.
How to "sleep" in an airport:
1. Find big cushoney chairs and push them together
2. If those are taken (in my case they were) find a massage chair - the reclining ones that you pay to receive a massage.
3. Stack your suitcases on top of each other so they are semi-level with the chair.
4. Slide down so you are supported by your luggage from waist below. The other half of your body is on the seat cushion and your head rests on the back.
5. Wiggle around until the balls from the massage chair aren't digging into your temple.
6. Now if you are a really poor sole and none of these fabulous chairs are to be found, crash on the floor. One suitcase to support your knees and the other for your head.
7. If all of these fail (and the only chairs in the airport are separated by arm rests you should probably just tough it out and stay up.
8. Take the train at four in the morning to another terminal and find out there are nice, quiet, dimly lit, carpeted tunnels perfect for sleeping.
After we checked in, we went to Ruby's for breakfast. I ordered a burger and chili fries... I guess it didn't feel like it was six in the morning... Delicious regardless of time! Since I was so experienced with the Houston Airport from my trip to Peru, I went looking for the Deuces guy. I found his Texas stand unfortunately he was not there ... but I got a picture with the new guy anyway.
How to sleep on a plane:
1. This one is really easy - pop a Benadryl and close your eyes. You won't even remember taking off.
Oh hey Kelsey, you are in Panama!!
-Our flight was a little delayed, so we were scared we weren't going to make our next flight. It landed in Panama at 2:25pm and our next flight boarded at 2:30. But we ended up making it!
I stayed awake on the flight to Quito. One, because I got to watch a movie. Two because I wanted to see the landscape. It was ... cloudy... most of the way. But when we started to descend, it was awesome!! The landscape was so cool!
The rest of the evening we waited around the airport for other students to arrive, then went to the hotel, ate some food, and showered (One thing they don't lack here is water pressure - it was like being blasted with a fire hose)!
The city (from what I saw from the airport to the hotel) is eclectic in the sense that some buildings seem ghetto - covered with graffiti, but then two buildings over is a fancy hotel or complete glass structure.
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| Method 6 for sleeping in the airport |
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| Sky flying to Quito |
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| Quito's landscape 1 |
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| 2 |
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| 3 |
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| 4 |
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| View of Quito |
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| Me and Miho 's room |
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| View from our hotel room |
I think I'm going to really like it here! Plus, I've met some pretty awesome people so far!
This is really, really cool! Thanks for the update! I'm so glad that everything is going so well thus far. It's really neat to see pictures already. I know you will be busy with all that you have planned but keep us updated as much as you can without it becoming a chore. I thought about you all day long today. Thinking about how exciting and overwhelming this must all be for you and trying to imagine what you are experiencing and how your senses must be in overload. Then I missed you so much. Love you lots! DAD
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