Travel Days

Our travel day officially started when we met at school around 11:30 a.m. before heading to the airport. We arrived around 1:00 p.m. and checked in smoothly, at least at first. When I reached the security checkpoint, I was unexpectedly sent back to the check in desk with no explanation. My documents were in order, but no one clarified what the issue was. Once I finally made it through security, our group found our gate and decided to explore the airport for a bit before departing. Not long after, the airline announced that we needed to check our carry on bags due to a full flight, it wasn’t ideal, but we stayed positive. 

We landed in Vancouver at 6:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. Chicago time. Our original five hour layover turned into six after the airline announced a delay. Even though the wait was long and tiring, we made the best of it by taking photos, exploring the airport, eating, talking, and playing card games. The delay helped us grow closer as a group and practice the flexibility and teamwork we know we’ll need throughout this experience. By the time we finally boarded our 15 hour flight to Sydney around 11:30 p.m., we were exhausted, but ready to finally make it to Australia.

We arrived in Sydney the next morning around 9:30 a.m., we were greeted by bright daylight and the reality that we had officially made it to Australia. After collecting our luggage, we met our bus driver, who took us from the airport to TAFE in Wollongong. There, we met our host families for the first time. After traveling across time zones and continents, everyone headed off in different directions to settle into their new homes and begin the next chapter of our adventure.