Departure Day and Abu Dhabi

After staying the night with my classmate and travel companion Meagan Schorr—at her father's house in a Chicago suburb—our commute to the airport was early and seamless. We had been packing (and repacking) and organizing our belongings all morning, and incredibly, we both have managed to pack all our belongings for the next three weeks, into one suitcase and one carry-on. Packing was especially difficult for several reasons: we will be on the move to different areas and cities every 3-4 days throughout the course, we have heard weather predictions of temperatures everywhere from mid 30's to upper 60's, and we aren't sure exactly what our day to day activities will be. Perhaps most amazing, we ended up checking our “overweight” baggage without being charged the $50.00 heavy bag fee.

Today has turned out to be the shortest day ever… literally! We went from leaving Chicago at 8 pm, 12/27/11 to arriving in Abu Dhabi at 6:30 pm 12/28/11 in just 12 and half hours! Our flight was on a luxurious (and enormous) Etihad airlines jumbo jet. The plane had the fanciest computer/monitors I have ever experienced on a flight; you could choose from 100’s of movies, flights, news programs, games, maps, travel guides, etc. to keep you occupied. As with most non-first class cross Atlantic flights, the leg room was lacking and made for some knee and hip pain starting after about hour 5, but otherwise it really was an enjoyable flight.

Now, in the Abu Dhabi International Airport, our group has taken turns watching the bags and going exploring… And it really feels more like I’m in a high-end shopping mall than an airport, with a number of very expensive vendors and shops in our terminal. Walking in through the gate we passed 25 ft tall indoor palms, felt a hint of humidity, and even got slight whiffs of the sea. It’s easy to tell we’re at a major international sea port.

Right now, I’m very relieved to have made it this far, and still extremely excited to reach our final destination—Dehli.