I woke up at 4 AM today and got ready to catch my ride around 5:30 AM. Christina's father agreed to pick me up from the Browns' house and take me to the airport with them. We got tot he airport around 6:40 AM and went through baggage. My bag weighed 32 pounds, the limit before being charged extra is 50 pounds... so I think I did a pretty good job packing...unlike my trip to New Hampshire..where I couldn't even lift my own bag..lol... Anyways baggage, and going through security went by pretty quickly. There weren't many people at the airport, which was great. At the security gate we had to run our carry on bags through the machine, as well as take off any metal items, and our jackets and shoes. Everything was a go from there. It all went rather smoothly.
The entire class was waiting in the gate, but the Browns were no where to be found. They must have thought that some of us had not gone through security yet... We sent Jacob to search for them. They arrived to join the rest of us around 7:50 AM. The gate opens at 8:10 and then we board. The plane will leave at 8:40 and head towards Dallas, Texas. To board thep lane, they call first class first..obviously...then all of the other seats are sectioned into groups. I was in group five, which was row 12 A, B, D, E, and F. I sit in 12E which is the middle seat. Jacob will sit beside me on the left in 12D which is the aisle seat and some stranger in 12F which is the window seat.
***mind you..most of this entry is written moments or a few hours after it happened...and i am adding in details that I left out in my written journal...so grammar...and tense...may be a bit off... ***
The first flight went really smoothly; the take off and landing were pretty hard to deal with, just because it was my first time on the plane since I was four ( coming over to the States from Germany)... but it wasn't really that bad. My stress and anxiety were just taking over my mind and body. The pilot was great and I am glad that my first plane ride went so smoothly. I think it took about 2 hours to get from Charlotte, North Carolina to Dallas, Texas.
Dallas airport was pretty fun... We had approximately 1.5 hours before our connecting flight was meant to leave. We were dropped off at the A terminal, and our next flight was going to take off at the D terminal...so we got on the tram to get to the other side of the airport. It was a little crowded... but it was practice for the transportation we would be taking in Mexico. I lost my footing when the Sky line (the tram) started moving... I was not able to grab on to a pole, so I held on to classmates instead. lol. Then a seat opened up...so I sat in it.
Once we got to the D terminal, we split off into groups and got food. I went with Christina, Terresa, Erin, and Evan to TGI Fridays. I ordered honey mustard chicken fingers and fries, with a strawberry lemonade. We were worried about our restaurant selection...because our food was coming out as soon as the first class passengers were beginning to board the plane. Luckily, we ate fast..and had a little bit of time to spare before they called groups 4,5, and 6 to board.
At 12:20, we began the adventure over the border. We were flying from Dallas to Mexico City, Mexico. This flight was not as smooth as the first. We hit a tiny bit of turbulence, but nothing major..just a little rumbling. The landing also was not as well executed as the first pilot...but still not bad.
I do not like the sensation I feel from taking off and landing...to me it feels like a slow motion roller coaster....and I hate roller coasters...and felt like I was suffering from motion sickness...Also I am not used to such changes in altitude...
The view from the plane was amazing though. I took a lot of photos above the clouds...at one point when we were flying back down through them...there was this awesome cloudscape...it looked like mountains of fluffy white cotton candy... I totally have pictures of that too!
**hours later***
Around 3 PM, we arrived in Mexico City. Before we left the plane we filled out some immigration and custom papers. The airport was really pretty... I could not stop to take pictures of it htough, because we needed to keep moving. There were stores in the airport, like Victoria's Secret, Starbucks, and various other stores...
All of our luggage had arrived safe and sound and as a whole! Thank Goodness! After retrieving our luggage, we had to go through customs... that went rather quickly. After that we were confused, well more confused because as a group we are all confused all the time..., about where to and how to exchange our currency from US dollars to Mexican Pesos. LUckily the Brown's friend and married-in relative, Marsela was there to greet and guide us. We exchanged currency 1 US dollar = 12.20 Pesos, at that time...it changes every day... Pesos are such a pretty currency... I kinda wish our American currency was that aesthetically pleasing... I really like the Aztec symbols that decorate the currency... Also one of the bills has mariposas ( butterflies= and as you know...that is what my name means and that is my logo! Ha!
After everyone had their currency exchanged... We had to walk down a long hall to get to the taxi station. Five of us rode in one taxi van and th eother six rode in another. Our driver was so nice but we couldn{t really talk to him because we don{t speak Spanish...He was very understanding though...
Mexican traffic is so crazy...I do not understand all of the lanes and few stop signs...and how the roads intersect. I am so glad none of us have to drive while down here!! I don{t think we could handle it... everyone drives soooooooo fast down here. I think my friend said our taxi driver was going about 120... People do not always use their signals down here...most just honk their horns... we were changing lanes pretty quickly in some of the craziest looking intersections... but we reached the Hostal safely in no time flat!
Hostal Cuija Coyoacan
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