And so it Begins...

Sitting in the middle seat during a fourteen hour flight with lots of crying babies was the perfect way to celebrate my 18th birthday.

I set off to the Boise airport around 9am on September 11th. After hugging my parents goodbye, my adventure officially began. I had a long two days of travel coming up. First, I flew to Seattle, which was a quick and painless flight. My layover was five hours so I had plenty of time to grab lunch and work more on setting up my blog. Sadly I was missing the first day of jump rope practice, but I FaceTimed a teammate and said hello to everyone.

After my relaxing time in Seattle, I got on my 14 hour flight to Dubai. The plane sat four people in the middle and three on each side. I was the unlucky person in one of the middle seats on the outside. I talked with the nice man in the seat next to me who was on his way to Thailand. Before the plane took off one of the flight attendants brought everyone a little pouch with socks, an eye mask, a toothbrush, and earplugs, which I graciously accepted. Once we were in the air I began the long flight by watching some movies. After eating dinner I spent the next 8 hours attempting to sleep. When I was woken up for breakfast, I watched another movie before the plane landed in Dubai.

The location of my plane when I turned 18!

Once I landed in Dubai I spent the next nine hours sitting around in the airport. I noticed lots of posters about how the WiFi was the best airport WiFi. They did not disappoint as I easily watched a few YouTube videos and texted my family. After what felt like forever, I finally boarded my plane to Kathmandu at 2am. I spent the five hour flight trying my hardest to squeeze in a few more hours of much needed sleep.

I landed in Nepal at 9am and went straight to waiting in a long line to buy my visa. After making it through customs I exchanged my money and got a SIM card so my phone would have service throughout my trip. I then met up with one of my leaders who was waiting for me outside the airport and headed over to the hotel. The drive over can only be described as chaotic. The drivers seem to go wherever they please without any regard to the others on the road. The traffic reminded me a lot of Vietnam, but without as many scooters.

Once we arrived at the hotel we were greeted with welcome drinks and headed to our rooms to get some rest. I currently have my own room, but I think that will change when everyone else arrives tomorrow. When I got to my room I set my bags down, messaged my family, and then got some much needed horizontal sleep.