In the days leading up to my trip, I was surprisingly very calm and relaxed. I was sad to be leaving my family and friends, a couple new friends in particular, but other than that I felt prepared to go. Of course I had been planning this experience for about three years, so why shouldn't I be anything but ready to go?!
I kept expecting myself to freak out but it didn't happen. Even as my parents drove me to the airport I didn't feel nervous, just anxious to get through the next 28 hours of traveling that I would be doing before I finally arrived here in Auckland.
The plane ride from LAX to New Zealand was an experience all in itself. By the time we boarded the plane, it was around midnight local time, which meant it was 3am back home in NY. Needless to say I was exhausted, but also excited. I was about to leave the United States for the first time in my life, and not only was I leaving but I was flying halfway across the world to an island in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, a place where I knew not a single person. As I found my seat on the plane I was sorely disappointed that it was in the center of the plane and not a window seat. However, I tried to make the best of it and just get comfortable.
Settled in my seat, with my bag tucked securely under the seat in front of me and my head resting on the neck pillow I had brought with me, my mind began to race. The plane felt hot and stuffy and I was beginning to feel like I couldn't breathe. How was I possibly supposed to sit in this seat for the next 13 and a half hours!?
Before I went into full panic attack mode I decided I better take a xanax to calm me down, and hopefully help me sleep. It seemed to be forever before it started to take effect. Soon we took off which actually made me feel better I think, I felt more comfortable with the fact that we were on our way and not just sitting anymore. Soon the flight attendants began to come around and serve dinner, they were all men that I could see with Australian accents. The food was not very good but I was surprised at how hungry I was. I ate what looked good to me and left the rest.
When I woke up my tray had been cleared and the plane was dark and quiet. Most everyone I could see on either side of me was asleep. I had no sense of what time it was or how long we had been flying. I checked the time on my phone to try to orient myself but somehow it was set to a different time zone than both the one I had left and the one where I was headed.
