the first one:

Yowza. It is time to go. I’m sitting here at concourse 3A in the Charlotte airport, and
I just discovered Internet. I wasn’t expecting to get internet the first spot I tried nor expecting to write my first post from an airport terminal, but I think these surprises are good lessons for the rest of this trip: predictions are often inaccurate.

Also, expect little and sometimes you get surprised!

To access it, I had to watch this aol promo ad toting (maybe begging for) the continued relevance of aol. It had this inspirational background music over all of these t.v. snippets. Now the screen is covered in pictures of all of these iconic figures including Santa, Kristen Chenoweth, storm troopers, the workout guy with the fro and short shorts (name?), and Paula Deen. Super bizarre and super American. Half of me thinks it’s ridiculous, but I’m pretty sure I secretly love it.

So here I am soaking up the free aol sponsored internet at 3A.

The people on either side of me are on their cell phones: The man to the left sounds like the adults on Charlie Brown (waa waa waa waaa), and I’m not sure what language he is speaking, maybe Portuguese with a sinus infection. He keeps gesturing with an upside down plastic fork; maybe he is emphasizing what he’s saying. Maybe? Phone lady on the right is now quiet and investigating something on the phone from her leopard print bag. My other neighbors include a middle-aged man with headphones tapping his foot (I wonder what he’s listening to?), a mac user with an enormous ring, a smooth twenty something kid with unlaced leather boots and ball cap, a glowing couple sharing lunch, and a school group with matching sweaters. What people watching.

My parents and I drove from Winston to Charlotte this morning, and they were mostly very good. My dad bought bagels from the best bagel place in the world (or at least the city) and shined my shoes, and my mom gave me lots of travel tips. Many thanks to both of them. I’m really grateful that they have encourage my brother and me to global citizens and seekers of interesting experiences, even when it means their children move to Peru and Ethiopia. (Also, thanks Matt.)

Also a big thank you to Davidson: to the institution for making pre and post semester travel possible, to faculty and staff who have been supportive, and to my wonderful friends who are such a beautiful blessings to know.

So that is the sappiest part. Time is running short, and I want to record my schedule. So: I leave for Atlanta shortly then fly to Lima and arrive around midnight. After an exciting night at the airport I go to Cuzco and arrive at 7:05 am! There, my host family, Sra. Dina, will pick me up! Until next Thursday, I will be there exploring the city, getting to know my family, and learning Quechua (the indigenous language of Peru). Hopefully, I will soon rendezvous with Laura, a friend who is also on the Davidson program and is in Cuzco, Next Thursday we will start the 20+hour bus ride to return to Lima and meet the rest of the group.

Got to run! I board in ten. Please excuse the probably typos…will proofread later. Thanks for reading!

Much love,

Cate