I've arrived! I have to remind myself of where I am at different moments throughout the day. And I still have no mental capacity to keep track of what day it is...I think once I get into a routine that will change!
Here's the gist of what it took to get here. I left Phoenix on Saturday, January 17th around noon and headed for Seattle. Had a short layover there and boarded a flight to Dubai (which is 14 hours!) and took a taxi to my friend's home and got a pretty good night's rest and then boarded my last flight to India (3 1/2 hours) around 3pm on Monday the 19th arriving in India about 9pm that evening. Needless to say, it took awhile! But I had absolutely no issues and even got a break on my overweight luggage. Praise for that!
The week prior to leaving was spent partly in TN, setting up my sweet Grandma with my old computer, internet and the ability to keep tabs on me via facebook or reading my blog. Prayers will be appreciated that she can navigate and remember all my instructions haha! While in Tullahoma, I had the chance to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins by meeting halfway between Birmingham and since Obama seems to be on the very same travel pattern as me lately, they are fully convinced that I secretly work for the CIA! :) He seriously was in Phoenix, Nashville, Chattanooga and I heard today that he plans to be in India this weekend!!! Crazy haha!
While in TN, I also had the chance to catch up with my dear friend Amy and that was such a nice treat before leaving to head back to AZ. I arrived back in Phoenix on Tuesday and spent the rest of the week in crunch mode, meeting with friends, packing, finishing last minute projects, laughing, crying, packing, repacking, saying goodbyes, reading books and racing cars with my nephews, hugging and kissing them endlessly and eating all my favorite foods. Did I say packing??? It was an insane week but I felt pretty calm going into Friday and spent my last day with family and was mostly ready to go. I even managed to get a few hours of sleep the night before I left on Saturday which was a miracle!! I think I must have said Prov 3:4-5 about a hundred times in my head to calm my brain to be able to rest.
A good chunk of my family was still there on Saturday morning and a few special friends helped to see me off. As I knew it would be, saying goodbye to my 3 year old nephew was by far the hardest part of leaving and I still tear up about every couple of hours. So thankful for internet and skype to keep in touch but it will be abundantly different. An amazing pocket of friends and family wrote me encouraging notes to have while I'm here and I only read them once on the flight to Dubai because I didn't want to be the crazy American girl with the ugly cry!
On the flight to India, I experienced something new on a flight. They gave each passenger a lemonade drink before we even took off. I found that interesting and random lol. And as they walked up and down the aisles, they sprayed a thorough dose of air freshener, which was also new for me. I'm all for clean smelling air, but was hoping it wasn't an actual strong fragrance, cause you know that would never go away with recycled air. Luckily the scent didn't linger.
Arriving in customs in India, I prayed I wouldn't have any issues getting through security and all went well. I managed to get in the slowest moving line and it felt like forever before I could go collect my bags. But as I came down a small escalator, I realized all the people that were waiting to pick up their friends and loved ones, were visible behind a glass wall and my sweet friend Kristi came and walked out a bit to catch my attention and as soon as I saw her, I was filled with such relief. I had made it! She helped get me settled into my new accommodation and I went to bed soon after. The place I'm staying is so lovely and the host family who runs this guest house is amazing. Kind, generous, and wonderfully helpful. Here's a link to see some photos of where I'm staying
http://commongrounds.in/common-grounds-guest-house/
I'll update next time with some first impressions of Calicut! So grateful for safe travels thus far and the incredible welcome I've received. Thanks for joining me on the journey!
Here's the gist of what it took to get here. I left Phoenix on Saturday, January 17th around noon and headed for Seattle. Had a short layover there and boarded a flight to Dubai (which is 14 hours!) and took a taxi to my friend's home and got a pretty good night's rest and then boarded my last flight to India (3 1/2 hours) around 3pm on Monday the 19th arriving in India about 9pm that evening. Needless to say, it took awhile! But I had absolutely no issues and even got a break on my overweight luggage. Praise for that!
The week prior to leaving was spent partly in TN, setting up my sweet Grandma with my old computer, internet and the ability to keep tabs on me via facebook or reading my blog. Prayers will be appreciated that she can navigate and remember all my instructions haha! While in Tullahoma, I had the chance to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins by meeting halfway between Birmingham and since Obama seems to be on the very same travel pattern as me lately, they are fully convinced that I secretly work for the CIA! :) He seriously was in Phoenix, Nashville, Chattanooga and I heard today that he plans to be in India this weekend!!! Crazy haha!
While in TN, I also had the chance to catch up with my dear friend Amy and that was such a nice treat before leaving to head back to AZ. I arrived back in Phoenix on Tuesday and spent the rest of the week in crunch mode, meeting with friends, packing, finishing last minute projects, laughing, crying, packing, repacking, saying goodbyes, reading books and racing cars with my nephews, hugging and kissing them endlessly and eating all my favorite foods. Did I say packing??? It was an insane week but I felt pretty calm going into Friday and spent my last day with family and was mostly ready to go. I even managed to get a few hours of sleep the night before I left on Saturday which was a miracle!! I think I must have said Prov 3:4-5 about a hundred times in my head to calm my brain to be able to rest.
A good chunk of my family was still there on Saturday morning and a few special friends helped to see me off. As I knew it would be, saying goodbye to my 3 year old nephew was by far the hardest part of leaving and I still tear up about every couple of hours. So thankful for internet and skype to keep in touch but it will be abundantly different. An amazing pocket of friends and family wrote me encouraging notes to have while I'm here and I only read them once on the flight to Dubai because I didn't want to be the crazy American girl with the ugly cry!
On the flight to India, I experienced something new on a flight. They gave each passenger a lemonade drink before we even took off. I found that interesting and random lol. And as they walked up and down the aisles, they sprayed a thorough dose of air freshener, which was also new for me. I'm all for clean smelling air, but was hoping it wasn't an actual strong fragrance, cause you know that would never go away with recycled air. Luckily the scent didn't linger.
Arriving in customs in India, I prayed I wouldn't have any issues getting through security and all went well. I managed to get in the slowest moving line and it felt like forever before I could go collect my bags. But as I came down a small escalator, I realized all the people that were waiting to pick up their friends and loved ones, were visible behind a glass wall and my sweet friend Kristi came and walked out a bit to catch my attention and as soon as I saw her, I was filled with such relief. I had made it! She helped get me settled into my new accommodation and I went to bed soon after. The place I'm staying is so lovely and the host family who runs this guest house is amazing. Kind, generous, and wonderfully helpful. Here's a link to see some photos of where I'm staying
http://commongrounds.in/common-grounds-guest-house/
I'll update next time with some first impressions of Calicut! So grateful for safe travels thus far and the incredible welcome I've received. Thanks for joining me on the journey!
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