Throughout my 23 years I have found that that life is made up of so many experiences. Experiences that hold happy times, sad times, sometimes just times. But no matter what the emotion with the experience, one thing is certain; it changes you in some way. People are constantly changing, adapting, growing, learning. I have had so many great experiences. I feel truly lucky. From Prague to Zurich, Paris to Vienna. Berlin to Augsburg. Each place holds something that adds a piece to the puzzle, which, when all are put together, ultimately shapes us into who we are. Who I am. I am now embarking on a new journey. ASIA.
This journey started off by an evening flight from Chicago, speeding down the runway, then quickly descending on the Cali coast. LAX was my temporary home for a few hours in the middle of the night. But within the night I was fast bound for Hong Kong. Asia. China. A whole new page in my book of experiences. I have had the privilege of being in many places before such as France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Mexico, Bahamas, Netherlands, but never Asia. My vision was clouded by sleepy eyes that were kept wide open by anticipation. The flight took forever. The seats were small and uncomfortable as they crammed together more people in one plane then I was used to. The stewardesses spoke English with such speed that it seems like a new language. As a result of my inexperience with this new fast-forwarded English, I ended up ordering the seafood breakfast - as a vegetarian that does not eat fish.
Almost 15 hours later the plane was pounding down the runway and I was in Hong Kong. My layover was almost a whole day, so I weighed the options. The boring option of sitting all day in the airport or the less cautious option of exploring the city. Ultimately caution flew to the wind and I hit the city. I went on tours, went shopping, had a day on the town, then was jammed back on the next plane for my final destination. Cebu. I was eager to get there, but not sleeping in 30 something hours made the trip merely a dream. I woke up arriving in Cebu.
Once I got off the plane, all the passengers were herded like confused sheep through winding halls and eventually to customs. After convincing customs of my validity, I stood watching a parade of suitcases, desperately wishing mine would eventually make its debut. Nothing. People came and went. I stood. Soon there were no more suitcases left and no more people. Finally came my bruised and beaten luggage and I headed for the door. Everybody was pulling me to one taxi or another, but I just kept walking, hoping somewhere I would find the answer to where I was going. Next thing I know, I was in a shuttle to Bigfoot, speeding by people and unfamiliar surroundings. Through my half open eyes, I took tried to take in all these things at once.
I was soon checked in and out with my guide for the evening seeing the sights of my new home for the next 8 weeks.
From 7:30am morning workouts followed by breath holding exercises to orientation and a grand tour of the place, I was kept busy for virtually every moment of the day. Jet lag made things difficult at first since I awakened faithfully 5:30 in the morning, and by 6:00 pm I was ready to go to sleep. It has taken about a week to get adjusted but luckily I have overcome the jetlag and am functioning normally now.
