Adventure. The beginning of many to come

The flight itself is always one of my favorite parts of the trip. I know most people would beg to differ but i love to fly no matter how long the flight and there's always a story to tell after. The flight to Spain has been no exception. Today I woke up at 6:30 to shower, get ready, and check my packing list for the tenth time. Then it was off to Salt Lake International. My mom walked me inside and the goodbye of course was hard! After that though it seemed to be clear sailing, no security problems and just the right amount of waiting time before boarding. The only strange thing was how packed the airport was! I don't know if that is just a Monday thing or what. There were about twenty missionaries leaving though (we creatively named it missionary Monday. Clever.). They made me and Liv feel ridiculous. Here they were completely composed leaving their families for two years to jet off to a foreign country and preach the word. Then there was us... Leaving for a short 7 weeks and having a panic attack! What champs. Anyways, the flight to Atlanta wasn't bad at all. Without even having to ask me and Liv got to sit together and turns out delta airlines has just about the greatest country music selection around. It was fantastic. Between that and bob marley I was set. Totally saved my battery on my iPad and iPod. But then we landed and there the trouble began. Our flight to Spain began boarding at 4:50 and what time did we land in Atlanta? Oh about 5 o'clock. Atlanta airport is HUGE and of course, (thanks Murphy) our connection was just about as far away as possible. The second the fasten your seatbelt sign flashed off we booked it! We got some serious dirty looks when we ran off the plane like it was on fire but there was no way we were going to miss this flight! So we took the lovely shuttle 3 terminals down and ran for dear life. Of course every roadblock possible happened and instead of E2 being the closest gate in the "E1-E12" hallway it was at the very end which I swear was a mile away! Carrying a backpack that weighs more than a small child and running for dear life is exhausting! Perhaps it's a sign I should work out more. But I do work out! So I guess a sign to actually push myself harder ha. We literally barely made it in time. We were by far the last people on the plane. And it was one giant plane! Biggest I have ever been on but then again this is my first international flight. We had to nicely ask the lady sitting next to Liv if I could switch her isle seat for mine. We're not sure she spoke English.. But she quickly said yes. So kind! The ladies behind us heard us complaining about starving and feeling like we were going to pass out (neither of us had eaten breakfast we were too nervous and then we were just certain we'd have time to eat in Georgia. Jokes on us! So we hadn't eaten like all day other than airheads and delta pretzels which I assure you is not the food of sprinting champions) so they handed us their peanuts from their previous flight and told us we could use the protein and they didn't want us passing out hahaha some people are seriously SO nice. Our pilot came on the intercom to announce that our flight was slightly delayed due to some baggage that had arrived late (guilty as charged! That had to have been ours but hey that means its not lost right? Knock on wood. Delta's fault though). I was tempted to run out of the airport right then and there. Not because I didn't want to go to Madrid but because I miss Georgia so much! It is such an amazing place. I miss it. But instead me and Liv looked out the window and said goodbye to America. This being my first international flight I have learned a few things. And wondered about many! First how many of these people are headed home? Vacation? Work? And this is an 8 hour flight! Do the pilot and the flight attendants spend the night in Madrid? I feel like a 16 hour work day would not be safe for passengers. But then why not stay in Spain a few days? Do they? Probably not but so many questions. As for the food I'm not sure if I learned much. I thought the dinner they gave us along with my fast break was fantastic but this may have been due to the fact that I was near starvation. So the food quality is still to be determined. Seeing how international flights are so dang expensive they provide you with actual decent entertainment. So many free movies and TV shows to pick from and once again great music. And I have an all new respect for delta... they had a free episode of dexter to watch! It was Christmas. I felt right at home. Also, apparently they have USB ports on the seats in front of you to charge your iPods or iPads or etc. How sweet?! Turns out our brilliant plan of conserving our battery to Atlanta was not necessary. More importantly I came to the conclusion that there should be rules with the "reading lights." our flight was basically a red eye for anyone on the right European schedule. At first the plane was lovely nice and dark after dinner perfect for a nap. Thhhhhen this lady on the row next to us turns on this little reading light and oh my heck it's like a ray of sunshine and not in a good way! Lights up basically the entire back section. So ridiculous! And to top it off she uses it for about ten minutes and then falls asleep! With the light still ON! My heavens. It's on as a type this. I think rules should be enforced for these so called reading lights. Now sleep isn't even an option. Jet lag here we come! Lastly, we have these flight attendants that keep walking up and down the isles watching everyone. I understand it's probably in their job requirement but it really makes me feel like I'm back at the U taking a final and being watched like a hawk. I find it awkward! And the two guys infrint of us have been talking in spanish nonstop since we left. I've understood words and phrases here and there but uh not much I don't find that a good sign! Anyway I plan to post this as soon as I get to Madrid and have wifi so everyone knows I'm safe. Hopefully this is the start of many adventures. Europe here I come! Stay tuned! Audios :)