Day 1: Up in the Air
Wow! From the Emerald City to the beautiful city of Dubai. Spokane and Seattle to Dubai over 11,949 Km and 14 hours in the air. It certainly feels like it! We started our day brimming with the thrill of travel. Some of us, like Zabelle and I, woke up as early as 5:00 AM out of sheer excitement (and a little out of cold. I don't know about the rest of us, but Zabelle and I put our blankets into storage the day before!). We spent our morning wishing farewell to our families and friends and most of our daily North American comforts, most torn between soaking up as much Wifi as possible and attempting to memorize the familiar sights of home. Personally, I was appreciating the Pacific Northwest flora and fauna before I had to give it up for four months. And then, its was on to a bus, which lead us to a plane, which took us across the state to another plane, which then carried us across the world. What an incredible day to be alive!
The next fourteen hours were full of chatter, movies and airplane food. I think we were all a little thrown off during the flight, our plane chased the sun and most of us slept restlessly in our seats. But it was completely worth it to touch down in Dubai International, with its towering, silver pillars, panels of glass walls stories high, and a fountain (or would it count as a waterfall?) that took up the majority of an interior wall. When given the opportunity, roughly half of us decided to take the late-night tour of the city, which included stopping by the World's Tallest Building, the Burj Khalifa. But seeing as we got in around 8:00 PM and had to be awake and ready by about 6:30 AM, the rest of us decided to call it an early night and wander around the hotel, freshen up, and attempt sleeping on local time.
I think some of our sudden tiredness could be attributed to the sudden heat and humidity of the area compared to the stagnant cool of the plane and airport. Someone told me it was around 90 degrees and we could feel the humidity within seconds. It was either mildly uncomfortable or a welcomed benefit of our new environment, depending on who you asked. However, I highly doubt any of us would be here if we allowed ourselves to be so easily deterred by a little extra heat!
Of those who decided to stay at the hotel, some of us explored on our own, some went straight to bed, and one or two of us went (or thought about) swimming in the hotel pool or exploring the gardens. I think my favorite part of the night was being able to compare the local plants to what we'd seen back home. Even the grass was a different texture than I've ever seen before! (More comparable to thick moss in density and mowed down to spongey stubble compared to the yielding, thin blades of grass we're used to.) One aspect of this journey I'm looking forward to are all the opportunities to witness the many differences in plant life between the areas we'll be seeing and our homes in the States.
We're all so excited for the rest of this incredible journey, and even more thrilled that you, our families, friends, and loved ones, get to share this experience with us through our blog. We'll be sure to keep everyone updated along the way.
Much love from the opposite hemisphere,
Jordan "Georgie" Martinez
Alto - Class of 2019
The next fourteen hours were full of chatter, movies and airplane food. I think we were all a little thrown off during the flight, our plane chased the sun and most of us slept restlessly in our seats. But it was completely worth it to touch down in Dubai International, with its towering, silver pillars, panels of glass walls stories high, and a fountain (or would it count as a waterfall?) that took up the majority of an interior wall. When given the opportunity, roughly half of us decided to take the late-night tour of the city, which included stopping by the World's Tallest Building, the Burj Khalifa. But seeing as we got in around 8:00 PM and had to be awake and ready by about 6:30 AM, the rest of us decided to call it an early night and wander around the hotel, freshen up, and attempt sleeping on local time.
I think some of our sudden tiredness could be attributed to the sudden heat and humidity of the area compared to the stagnant cool of the plane and airport. Someone told me it was around 90 degrees and we could feel the humidity within seconds. It was either mildly uncomfortable or a welcomed benefit of our new environment, depending on who you asked. However, I highly doubt any of us would be here if we allowed ourselves to be so easily deterred by a little extra heat!
Of those who decided to stay at the hotel, some of us explored on our own, some went straight to bed, and one or two of us went (or thought about) swimming in the hotel pool or exploring the gardens. I think my favorite part of the night was being able to compare the local plants to what we'd seen back home. Even the grass was a different texture than I've ever seen before! (More comparable to thick moss in density and mowed down to spongey stubble compared to the yielding, thin blades of grass we're used to.) One aspect of this journey I'm looking forward to are all the opportunities to witness the many differences in plant life between the areas we'll be seeing and our homes in the States.
We're all so excited for the rest of this incredible journey, and even more thrilled that you, our families, friends, and loved ones, get to share this experience with us through our blog. We'll be sure to keep everyone updated along the way.
Much love from the opposite hemisphere,
Jordan "Georgie" Martinez
Alto - Class of 2019
Jordan Martinez! You Rock!!!!! Thank you so much for posting this!!!! I can't get my phone to get the WhatsApp open, so this is such a huge blessing! God bless you all and please be safe! Love and hugs to Our Ian and Rory! You are all in thought and prayers..... Barry and Tammy Loe
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