The Journey Begins!

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

-Confucius

My sister Samantha and I boarded our plane in San Diego CA around 10:30pm Saturday June 14th. Note to all: Pack light! We had serious issues with the weight and the number of bags we were checking. It was ridiculous. We literally were repacking and re-weighing our bags in the middle of the check in line for a good fifteen to twenty minutes. After we got all of that resolved we made our way through security. Of course, Samantha accidentally put all of her liquids in the carry-on by accident while we were re-packing. At that point, our plane was already supposed to be boarding. She had to have Mom and Monty come back to the airport and pick up her liquids, go through security again, and then come to the terminal. Not a good start, but we made it through and got on the plane just fine. Pheww!! On our way to our connecting flight in Washington DC I made a friend sitting next to me. He and his wife could not stop making me laugh! They were both in their seventies, and everyone knows that I find outgoing elderly people epic. If you feel young, you are young. That's my motto. Anyways, he was awesome and was also on the same flight to Halifax. During the flight, I woke up just in time to see the sun rise. It was absolutely stunning. I can't even remember the last time I was up early enough to see the sunrise. My goodness it is miraculous! The sun was rising though a blanket of clouds as if they were a soft sea. It was absolutely stunning! When we got to D.C. I couldn't help but feeling jittery with anticipation. Even though I never left the airport, I was so happy to be in my nation's capital. I can't explain it. It just felt so exhilarating. I know that sounds absurd considering I was just stuck in an airport with nothing special, but I was so happy to be there. I even got a little teary-eyed. Samantha laughed at me, as she kind of had a right to do so. The second plane to Halifax was filled with Semester At Sea students! I met about fifteen people on the plane and we all bonded. We chatted all the way through customs, waiting for a shuttle, and on the shuttle to downtown. I believe around ten students are staying in the same hostel as me and my sister. Everyone is so excited and nervous. I have a really good feeling about these people. I think that we are going to have a really good time together. This is the beginning of some beautiful friendships :)