SFO- 12:24 PM

It's hard to believe I'm finally ready to go! When I thought about booking this trip last summer, it seemed like it was so far away! I kept thinking "If I can just survive this school year, I will have a nice trip as my reward." Well, it's time to reward myself!

I was impressed with my packing skills. I bought Ziplock bags to store my clothes in. When you roll your clothes in them, the air comes out and they become like vacuum sealed. My luggage also only weighed 37 lbs, which included a bunch of school supplies that I packed to donate to the rural school that we're gonna visit in a couple days.

The only hang up I've had so far is that my travel agent spelled my last name wrong on my travel documents, even though we have corresponded since January. What's even more funny is that he emailed me regularly the past few months, sending emails to "[email protected]." So it only makes sense that he would put "Mrs. Jessica Lynne Pagen" on my travel docs, including my flight from Quito to Lima. Ugh. Sometimes if you want something done right you have to do it yourself! I called and spoke with a manager this morning who said they are in the process of getting it fixed. It doesn't affect my flight today or coming home, just the one I take next week to go to Peru so it will definitely be worked out by then.

Other than that, I feel confident that the rest of the trip will go smoothly. I'm really looking forward to trying some good food, shopping, being immersed in the history and culture, and, of course, attempting to use whatever Spanish I can remember from my high school Spanish classes.