Update
on the last Three crazy days
Local time 5 pm on the 13 Oct.
And so it begins. My flight from Calgary was crazy, and the initial
checking and security was horrible. I nearly forgot my passport and gave mom a
heart attack! Luckily, the guards and attendants were nice, and I made what you
might call Airport buddies with a big family off to Disneyland. They were kind
enough to buy me a hamburger, and we made small talk.
The plane, my first, was quite identical to a
flying greyhound bus, only longer and more squished. I still think they look
like awkward whales (or sardines for that one!) Taking off feels like a boring
rollercoaster, and going through the clouds made me think of Disney songs. ‘A
whole new world ‘ fo shizzle! Yeah, the first and last five minutes of the ride
are beautiful, the rest are boring, therefore spent reading The Fault in our Stars.
Highly recommended if you like pop culture references! It’s really too bad I
read so fast, because it’s one adventure I would like to prolong.
The first thing I really noticed about the LAX is that it isn’t as
friendly as Calgary. The second, all the signs are English. No French at all!
It seemed…. Sad to me. The bilingual-ness of Canada is somewhat special to me. Writing this is my attempt at killing a
loooooong layover in LA, where I will not be leaving the airport just in case. How else do you murder vague ideas? I mean,
think about it. From a scientific point of view, you can’t touch it,
hypothesize it, test it, but you see the effects of it so undeniably you have
to know it’s real. Kinda like God. I feel like it is 6 pm (Calgary time, it’s
true), in LA it’s 5 pm, and in Brisbane its 7 AM. Everywhere knows time
differently.
Places as well, can a place really
be strange, if it is made by the same creator? None of them feel like ‘Not
Home.’ I suppose I will find out eventually.
8 pm local time
It’s a good thing I didn’t leave
the Airport in LA, because some sort of security breach delayed my flight and
put the whole thing on lockdown! When that was over, I boarded my NZ flight.
Air New Zealand was really nice and friendly, and more like I imagined a plane (less
tin can wobble maker.) I spent most of my time watching movies because even
though it was a 13 hour night flight, my body knew it was daytime in Canada. I
got to watch the sun go down in LA and come up in AUK. I ate breakfast three
times in a row, each in a different time zone. Since the la flight was delayed
I as nearly late for the next plane I had to take, and booked it through the
airport. In the 2 minutes I spent there, I realised NZ has hobbits on their
planes and the gates look like the Mines if Moria. After the next, and mostly
uneventful leg, I picked up my bags which were a bit worse for wear, and headed
out to meet some of my new schoolmates.
On the ride to my new ‘home’ I was
amazed at the colours. Jacarandas of glorious purple, all the reds and yellows,
and palm trees! Then I met the people at the school. Out of 30 students, 25 are
girls. 6 Canadians, and a plethora of Americans, Norwegians, Germans, and other
nationalities. I think it’s a pretty cool
bunch. The time we spent getting to know each other was pretty much standard
procedure. Ask Name, nationality, and track. I have a feeling us girls are
going to have a lot of fun! We got a quick tour around the base and town, and I
have firmly decided the guy who designed this school was crazy! It has so many
levels and stairs, and it goes in circles to get to anything. I like it. Later
on, I Met a girl who knows my best friends mom.it really is a small world! Then
we Played games, talked, and almost fell asleep. Jet lag is so weird!
0530 AM local time
After I wrote that, I fell asleep. It is now 530 am local time, and the cockatoos
outside are squawking. I slept like a rock!
After breakfast today some of the girls are going to go shopping. Jeans are
really not useful right now! We live a couple minutes from a train station, and
the two hour ride to the beach only costs 10$ CAD! I haven’t went yet, we asked
the ticket guy. He then asked if we loved Jesus, and told us to have fun at
YWAM.
The school rules are pretty easy, stuff like
respect and modesty. The next couple days are orientation, which I seem to
need, because even though it’s a small base and all, the architecture is a bit
confusing. I’ll signoff now, there’s a lot I need to do. Pictures soon!
