Day 1 - Travel

And so my journey begins.

Early early flight leaving Syracuse. We arrived at the airport around 4:30 am with little to no sleep. The lack of sleep did not have the slightest effect on my mood, for I was far too excited for the experience that is to come.

The CREW:

Travel was filled many smiles and laughs. Even the 12 hour flight was enjoyable. The luxurious environment provided many comforts and sources of entertainment. With the time we were not sleeping we played some intense games of battleship, watched movies, and tracked our flight progress on the personal TVs. Many of us had troubles sleeping on the flight....except for ME! I believe slept for about 9-10 hours. This earned me the title of "senior citizen," because I woke up only to eat, watch a show, and to go to the bathroom.

The flight was fully equipped with exterior cameras to document the views from outside the plane. This feature provided our first glimpse of Dubai (our home for the next 5 weeks). Nearing the end of the flight we all were awake and filled with anticipation of stepping foot in Dubai. As we exited the plane there was a sign that read "Welcome to Dubai (the same words were below in Arabic)" it was at this moment that the magnitude of the situation began to settle in. The first sights of the airport were clean and flashy. As we made our way to the baggage claim the series of mirror filled walls and large indoor waterfalls kept us in awe. It was now 8:00am and the start of our first full day in Dubai.