The Trip

As most of you know, I have arrived safely. On Monday, my family and I worked our way to Kennedy Airport. We took our time, experienced some light snow showers, and stopped for a bite to eat at the Drive-Ins, Dinners, and Dives: White Mana. If you don't know the place, it's the all American joint: burgers, fries, and Coke. It was just like a White Castle burger. It hit the spot for a long trip away.

After a couple detours, we made it to the airport. I was unable to check-in online so I was a little worried about check-in. I never went to the airport with just my passport before. It all worked out and I was able to take my two large, most likely overweight suitcases, and my overweight carry-on without any problems. I did have a fee for the second suitcase but that's to be expected.

After checking in, it was time to say goodbye to my sisters and dad. This was not an easy task but I didn't talk much - a kiss, a hug, and a wave goodbye. Otherwise, I knew I would be an emotional wreck and not be able to get through security gracefully. Not that I believe anyone can go through security gracefully, but I have a plan down. And it flopped because I had too many items. I took up three bins, plus my carry-on. Watch out for the lady who packed everything except the kitchen sink.

I got through and waited at the gate. It seemed to go much faster than I expected. I didn't even read a chapter of my book. I ended watching a couple of news clips, a documentary on Jay Leno, and answering calls/texts. 

I had a decent flight. I had a hard time falling asleep because of two reasons. One because I started dozing off and then realized they are going to serve supper. Thank goodness for that! I was afraid that I wouldn't have had anything to eat since lunch at 11:30. Well, not only did I get dinner around 7:30ish; then I got breakfast at half past midnight. I was not ready for this and definitely did not like the thought of not going back to sleep. At this point, we only had two hours left. I made small talk with the girl sitting next to me. She had a UPenn shirt on. She is taking an internship there this summer. I told her my favorite place in the city, Fado. I'm glad we had such a nice conversation because she allowed me to use her phone and connected to her wifi when we landed. So nice! 

As soon as I got through the gates, Mike was there. We had my stuff and ready to go -just to stop at Starbucks quick! We, including Mike, Aiden, Asher, and I, spent the day in. I napped just a bit but because of my shoulder I can't sleep very well. I have a pain in my shoulder all the way up to my neck that I can't seem to shake. It's very painful - makes me want to scream! 

Through out the day, I made contact with some of my team members. My first day of observation will be on Friday, March 14. I'm so ready to go in and see what's going, why I'm here. 

The night finishes off with yummy lasagna, cucumber sticks, tiramisu, and red wine. The perfect Italian dinner for an Italian dreamer.