adventure. day one.

last night i took a nap. from 12:15am-2:30am. and when my alarm sang to me, i just wanted to go back to sleep. forget my africa trip. I WANT TO SLEEP! but i got up. and kind of cloudily got ready for my day [(s) because i'm wearing these clothes and everything until tomorrow!] mom and dad were big helpers and whisked me out the door around 3:30. we showed up at seatac at just the perfect time. my first challenge: trying to go up the escalator with two rolling suitcases. i had to let people go ahead of me. i felt like elf on his first escalator adventure.we met up with mark jordan (my sort of escort) at the top of the escalator and got my ticket/checked my bag. before security, dad sweetly read some bible verses and prayed. i don't remember much of the prayer because i was just mentally prepping myself NOT to cry. it was a success! but i know i'll cry at some point. i love my parents TOO MUCH not to cry over missing them madly!

i learned something today. in fact, i learned a lot of things today. but the one i'm talking about is the "carry-on, only a quart ziploc's worth of liquid" rule. i had about three times that much. and they let me keep it! i won't make that mistake again. mark (who works for delta) said to me after that, "i've never seen that happen. that was a miracle! God must be on your side." that is exactly right. thank you Jesus, you're good!

sadly, mark, had he come to atlanta with me, prolly would have been stuck here over night. so we bid each other farewell and i boarded the plane. slowly. it seems almost the only fast thing about flying is that the planes go fast. once on, i discovered narrow asles. VERY narrow. i'm pretty sure i bumped a few people with my junk as i skinnily walked along the asles to almost the back of the plane.just keep walking, just keep walking, walking walking.... after my carry on was too fat, i took stuff out and the flight attendant kindly stowed it away for me. window seat i come! and so i was. for four hours. unfortunately for me, i had to go potty almost as soon as i got on the plane. and i decided to wait a while. and so i did. my seat buddies fell asleep! if only i could have just jumped over them. but i didn't. they finally woke up, and about 45 mins before we landed i worked up the courage (thanks to my apparent urgency) to ask if i could sneak out. sneak hardly. but out, yes. airplane bathrooms are my favorite. so intimate and cozy! seriously.

at first i felt bad for having so much stuff. then i realized, unlike everybody else, i'm bringing stuff for six months. most people bring stuff for six days! i felt a little better :)

the window seat was perfect for lots of outside pictures. after flying over hundreds of miles of flat, i became more thankful for growing up in tree country. thank you mom and dad for living in idaho! who knew there could be so many miles of fields?!

upon arrival in atlanta, as i disembarked from the plane, my first smell was: food. fried food. and i got some. YUMMY!!!

this is an odd situation to be in, completely alone and not knowing (that i can think of) anybody who lives even remotely close to atlanta. i felt quite lonely at first. now i love it. ahh, independance!

note to self: pack lighter for trouncing around the atlanta airport. it's HUGE! i'm loving the moving floors and trains and escalators. they are my favorite. and i just watched the sunset. ahh so pretty.

mostly so far so good on day one, although i had to spend $3.48 on OJ to get this internet. oh well, totally worth it! happy weekend friends :) on to movies and sleeping and 15.5 hours in the air!