Big D!

Howdy y'all,

I'm sitting here at gate D16 at the DFW airport in Dallas or, as locals (apparently?) and my Texan grandma, Libbuh, affectionately call it, "Big D". As I sit here in this GIANT (!!) airport, which is increasingly becoming more and more deserted, I have a few initial reflections and updates.

First, some logistics:

Because of a really dumb error on my part, I'll be arriving in Quito a day late and $500 poorer, not to mention a lot sleepier (after one overnight and one 5hr layover, in DFW and Miami, respectively). And while discovering this error and being thrown into somewhat of a crisis mode less than 24 hrs before I was supposed to depart was not the most pleasant or ideal situation, I consider it as just the beginning of what I refer to in my head as "my epic adventure," which inevitably will be FULL of blunders and bungles. It was a good exercise for me to acknowledge it, fix it, (cry and freak out a little) and move on. And, I mean, a noon airport trip was much more enjoyable than a 3 am one anyway. So now all that's in order and I just have to make it to Quito.

So far, so good... The flight from PDX to DFW was great! I got an entire row to myself and was so engrossed in the book I was reading (The Best American Short Stories of 2008) that the 4 or so hour flight flew by... literally (har har). I'll camp out here tonight, hop on a plane to Miami at 6:50 tomorrow morning, spend some hours there and then finally end up at the Quito airport at 7:30ish tomorrow night. It seems like a long way from now, but I have to keep telling myself that getting there is half the fun. And, in all honesty, I'm finding the pause for reflection that this little snafu is allowing me to be a welcome addition to my journey.

While on the plane, in between short stories, I realized how good it felt to be flying in this particular situation. Normally when I fly, especially in recent years, it's been short little flights up and down the west coast where everyone is essentially flying for the same purpose, that being short little escapes from normal life. DFW, on the other hand, is a hub for all sorts of connecting flights and international travel, so in my mind, the people I'm traveling with are more interesting and mysterious. Not to mention the fact that this plane is taking me to my new home for the next 8 months in a new city, country, continent. An unprecedented adventure in my life, rivaled only by leaving for college in SF when I was 18. And, looking at it like that, I know I'm in for a whirlwind adventure; a crazy, life-changing 8 months that will leave me, for better or for worse (but probably better), a very different girl. And that's just the kind of thing that I want right now.

I have a lot of thoughts whirling around in my brain at the moment, but I think I'll leave it there for now. I have, after all, another 8 hrs here to formulate those thoughts ;). Now off to see if anything is still open (it's almost 11 here) so I can grab some dinner, charge my computer and maybe brush up on some Spanish (or just watch a bunch of stupid tv shows online :) ).

Hugs y besos!

PS- Mom and dad, I love you! I'm safe! Go to sleep.