Airport problems

My brother dropped me off at DIA, and everything was okay. I was through check-in in no time, and on my way to the concourse to wait for my flight to LA. I got there, and sat down next to the moving walkway. It was nearing its end, please watch your step.

I was however, just beginning my journey. It was the first of July. And I thought I was going to cry. I was terrified. I was leaving for a year. I haven't actually been away from home for more than like three months before, even though I go to school in Mississippi. The prospect of being gone for a year was, to say the least, scary. I felt like I was going to fall off the face of the planet, and I kind of was. I was on my way to New Zealand for nine days and then on to Sydney for 365.

The plane was starting to board. Fear faded away, and anxiousness took over. It was mid morning, and in about 30 hours I would be in Auckland, New Zealand. All I could think about was wandering off into nothingness alone, and it was exciting.

The flight to LAX was boring, and I got there about one, local time. But, my flight wasn't until 9:45 PM. Fuck. That was way too much time. But, I had a savior: internet. It was only like ten dollars for four hours of access. Of course, internet wasn't working at the international terminal. So I wandered over to the domestic terminal. Nope, not there either. Thank you T-Mobile, for being shitty, like always, on the only day it matters to me that you're shitty. I had another six hours to kill, so I checked in for my flight to Auckland, called my brother to raise the alarm, and let everyone know I was in LA.

By 7:30, I was ready to kill someone. I had wandered around, read, went to the bathroom about a million times, and still had an hour and a half til boarding time. I was pacing up and down the terminal out of boredom. It was bad enough that I was looking forward to a 13 hour flight, if only for a change of scenery.

Got on the plane, and as those lovely Kiwis say, it was "great as." The 747 was practically brand new, and every seat had a TV with tons of movies and music and games. Way nicer than any other plane I've been on before, but it is the only long-haul flight I've had the pleasure of taking. Maybe everyone is like that?

I quickly found out that I was wrong. Gus, the person sitting next to me, was quick to point out that Delta and United were horrible compared to Air New Zealand. So, props to Air New Zealand. The thirteen hour flight could have been a five hour flight, and I wouldn't have noticed the difference. It passed by in a breeze.

Preview of what's to come:

Long ways from home