I can't believe time has flown by so quickly! It feels like just yesterday I was waiting so nervously in the small conference room of Richmond High School to be called by Ms. Kronenberg for my interview in front of the judges so I could be part of the the Ivy League Connection. Now I am in Rhode Island writing this blog to let everyone know how my day of departure went. It is such a great feeling to finally be here in Rhode Island.
It all began for me at home when my dad was rushing me to grab all my luggage and place them in the trunk of our van. He kept asking me if I had everything I needed before we left home. I assured him that I had everything, and then my family and I headed off to El Cerrito High School where the whole Women & Leadership group would wait for the shuttle to take us to the SF Airport . The first person I saw at ECHS was the wonderful and friendly face of Don. Like always he greeted me and gave me the last thing that I needed for my trip. When everyone else arrived Don gathered us around and gave us the last instructions before leaving. Then of course like always he took a picture of us before we left.
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| My Thousand Pound Luggage |
The airport was a little frustrating for me. My luggage weighed ten times more than myself and dragging it became a mission for my little body. Thankfully my new friend Emily helped me out with one bag. When we arrived to check in our bags technical difficulties occured and we were left to wait an hour and a half for the situation with the ticket machine to be resolved. Once that was fixed I headed off with the rest of the group to go through security. Security went very smoothly and no problems were presented at all.
Entering my first flight was very nervewrecking for me. I could feel my stomach go into a million knots and my head spin non-stop. I went through all the people hoping I would end up relaxing but I just felt more nervous. I sat in my assigned seat and ended up sleeping. When I woke up I noticed that I was invading Iris and Molly's space. I wasn't feeling so good so I decided to go back to sleep. Then I woke up to the screaming of a few people that were surprised by the pilots terrible and scary landing in Newark.
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| Beautiful! Isn't It? |
The second flight was way more pleasant for me. I had the privilege of sitting next to the window. The scenary was so beautiful and breathtaking. I couldn't stop looking outside the window. My favorite part was when the airplane went straight into a cloud. It truly was an unforgettable experience for me.
We arrived at Providence around 4:20, hoping to get our car rental, head off to the hotel, leave our luggage, and finally get something to eat, but what we weren't expecting was for our car rental to be another problem for us. We had to wait for two hours for the problem to be resloved and when it was finally fixed we all dashed to the van and headed to our sweet hotel.
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| I Wish This Were Really My Bed! |
At the the Providence Hotel we met with Ms. Kaplan who later gave us the keys to our rooms. I was paired up with Destiney, who is wonderful company. We were set in the fourth floor, isolated from the rest of the girls that were all set on the second floor. Destiney and I were excited and relieved to be at our room. We chose what beds we wanted and then launched ourselves at them. Later we went downstairs because the moment we were waiting for had finally arrived--dinner time!
Ms. Kaplan decided to take us to a restaurant called Viva Mexico, which in my opinion was very delicious. I ordered a regular burrito which turned out to be very super for me! I enjoyed it very much and also enjoyed the company of all the girls.
Coming back to the hotel the first thing that Ms. Timmes and Ms. Kaplan told us to do was blog and so Iris had the brilliant idea of making it into a blog party. It was settled that our blog party would be held at the room where Destiney and I were staying in.
And so I am here with all the girls writing about my whole day and waiting anxiously for what is soon to come tomorrow and for the next three weeks of my stay at Providence.
Abby,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tale you’ve told--especially the kind words about me.
And by the way, I didn’t just take a picture before you left. I took a GREAT picture before you left and made it even better on the computer.
I’m so sorry you were feeling poorly on the flight and even more sorry about the landing in Newark. Sometimes I think they reinforced the doors to the cockpit so the passengers couldn’t vent their rage at the pilots.
Here you travel 3,000 miles away from home to eat your first meal in a Mexican restaurant? How East Coast is that? At least it hit the spot for you.
One of the things I think you’re all going to find very quickly is that even though most of you attended different schools and live in different parts of the District, you’re all the same and you’ll soon become very close.
And Iris is right about the blogging parties. They can be fun and even be productive. They can even make the “chore” of blogging seem like fun.