Flying to the Land of the Long White Cloud

   First off, flying to New Zealand took well over 24 hours…but I met some really interesting people along the way! Every time I travel, I try to meet at least one new person and possibly grab a few business cards while I’m at it (networking, yay!). 

   My flight from Chicago to Denver gave me the chance to meet a businessman from Quebec City, Canada. I noticed a slight accent when he mumbled a greeting as I took a seat next to him, but I couldn’t quite identify what type of accent it was. When my first comment of “Bless you” as he sneezed was returned with a confused, but polite look and hesitant smile, I presumed he was not from the states. I spent the next few hours learning about his hometown, international travels and business in the U.S., and sharing with him stories from my past internships and what I was most looking forward to in New Zealand. By the end of the conversation, he had handed me his business card and told me that his company does business in Iowa and to give him a call if I was ever interested in working there. 

   The second woman I met had been assigned a seat on the opposite end of the plane from her husband and children and was thankful to have a companion to chat with on the flight from Denver to Los Angeles. The woman was a psychologist who lived with her husband and kids in Los Angeles and had been spending Memorial Day weekend in Boulder, Colorado with her extended family. While she enjoys living in California, she plans on retiring in Boulder someday and spent much of the time talking about the beauty and peacefulness of Boulder and suggesting I make the trip there to see it. We also got on the conversation of her family, and I discovered that her daughter had once entered the Miss California pageant. This gave me a chance to reminisce about my days as a small town fair queen several years ago. We chatted for about half of the flight to L.A., and spent the other half gazing in awe at the beautiful landscapes below. This flight gave me the opportunity to see the Rocky Mountains and Grand Canyon for the first time. I got some really pretty pictures on my phone (which I will post as soon as I have access to wifi, as opposed to the cable internet I am paying per hour for now). This four hour flight also resulted in my gaining another business card and offering that she take a look at my blog while I am away in New Zealand.

   The final people I got to meet on my flight to NZ were my fellow interns! We had all planned to wear green to the L.A. airport in order to more easily identify each other. I ran into the first intern as I was approaching security. I had never seen Bridget Smith in person before, but I knew it was her when I saw a girl bouncing up and down, smiling and waving my direction. After getting an okay from security, Bridget and I turned the corner to run into Chris Cena, another intern dressed in the color of the day. From there, we continued to gain group members as we got closer to our departure time and we quickly learned that the cost of living was much higher in Los Angeles than it was in our hometowns…I paid over $10 for a sandwich. One “necessity” that was much cheaper in Los Angeles than in New Zealand, however, was alcohol, so we grabbed a few liters from the duty free store to take with us on our flight and hold us over for the next few weeks.

   The flight to New Zealand was unlike any flight I had taken before. First of all, it took us almost thirteen hours to fly across the Pacific, but the plane itself was also twice as big as any I had previously flown on. As I entered the plane, walking past first class and business class was a tease. I looked around in wonder at the sky couches and swivel chairs I longed to cozy up in for the long flight ahead. As my group and I reached economy class, however, I could not complain about the accommodations offered to us there. The plane had just been within the past year and looked shiny and new. Our seats were more spacious than those in my previous flights and a blanket and pillow welcomed us to our new quarters. After taking a seat, I discovered that the screen in front of me offered a wide variety of movies, games, TV shows, and news from around the world to keep me informed and entertained. There was also a screen to show us how far we had flown and how much time we had left, along with the temperature outside the plane, which was well below freezing as we flew high above the Pacific and into the Southern Hemisphere. 

   Throughout the course of our flight, we were offered free wine and two rather delicious meals. The staff was also wearing bright purple and black printed outfits and welcomed us with that Kiwi accent and charm I have grown to love since my time over here. Overall, my travel to New Zealand was long and tiring, but also a great experience during which I got to see new places and network with a lot of people from a wide variety of backgrounds.