Friday, February 2, 2007

Peacin' on a jet plane

So, it's about 9:30 A.M. and I'm waiting for my Mom to take me to South Station in Boston. My travel route to Jaipur is far from straightforward, and it goes something like this. First, I'll leave South Station and take a bus to New York City. I'm planning on being there around 4:00 P.M. today, at which time I'm meeting my friend Matt. He has an apartment somewhere in the middle of Manhattan, and not only will I be temporarily leaving my luggage there, but it is also where my airport shuttle will pick me up.

And on the topic of the airport shuttle...However much I hate to admit it, my decision to take the shuttle, opposed to the NYC Subway, is yet another example of how my mom is almost always and inevitably right. My plane leaves at 7:30 A.M. on Feb. 3, and the program coordinators for SIT (School for International Training) want all of us to arrive at 4:30 A.M. I was planning on leaving the city at 2:00 A.M. via the A-train from mid-town to the SkyTrain, and then the SkyTrain to JFK. Although I'm still more than comfortably certain that my plan would have worked, my Mom continually insisted that I just "look into taking a shuttle." Begrudgingly, I went online and to my reluctant delight found that not only was the shuttle mad convenient, but it was also only $19. So, in the end I will be taking a shuttle from Matt's appartment to JFK.

With a bit of luck, and a bit of planning, I think I'm going to arrive on time and all in one piece. I hope the rest of the group members are able to do the same. At this point, I don't who the other students on the trip are. Had I been given a roster I would have liked to facebooke everyone; however, at this point I guess I'm simply going to meet everyone at our gate in the airport. I can only expect that first impressions which will be made at 4:30 A.M. (and presumably after everyone has already been traveling) are going to be far from flattering, but I look forward to meeting everyone.

After we depart from JFK we'll fly to London where we'll have a few hour layover, and then we'll hop on over to New Delhi. After arriving in New Delhi, exchanging some money (per instructions of SIT) and getting through customs, I think I'll be there. I say 'I think' because at this point it still seems surreal. Although, this may seem straightforward: I don't think I'll be able to conceive that I'm going to India until I'm there. I simply don't know what to expect, and expecting something you know nothing about lends to an expectation of nothing. I feel as though now I'm mentally ready to leave.

So that's all for now. All I can do at this point is see if my plan actually unravels accordingly. In a small sense, I'm hoping it doesn't. I just read a book, and the author essentially says that serendipity and embracing the unexpected is what makes a trip memorable. Seeing as this is how I strive to live my everyday life, I have no worries that my trip is going to be fantastic.

So, I'll close by saying I hope all doesn't go as planned...:)

Be well,
~sETH

I'm not sure when I'll be able to get on a computer again, but as soon as it's possible, there will surely be details to follow.