airports galor

it's official, the journey has begun.
last night (monday night) i pulled an all nighter in preping for the trip. i had planned to wake up at six in the morning regardless so it wasn't too bad. the time flew by with my perfectionist style of packing and making lists to double check lists..
SO. i shipped out this morning from the livable forest at seven.
i flew to denver at 8:45 sharp. this is where i busted out the horse-shoe pillow and drooled. i won't deny it. hopefully the little bit of drool that woke me up was all that came out.. i didn't ask the gentleman next to me..
then had a short lay over around an hour and a half, then i flew out to los angeles. where i also passed out. this time i had a window seat with nobody sitting in between me and this lady.
i did happen to awake once we were coming into los angeles. it is massive! i lucked out in sitting on the side of the plane that faced the HOLLYWOOD sign. although we were far away, i knew what to look for. let me say, i feel that i am more apart of movies and tv shows now. i have a connection. ahah. i wanted so badly to travel by foot around the city but i had an intinerary with a company expecting my presence.
so i grabbed my suitcase, that i believe weighs a slight bit too much, and went to find the shuttles. i got to sit outside and enjoy that clean LA air for fifteen minutes before boarding this dinky shuttle to Hacienda Hotel. FF (fun fact for those who don't know my cool lingo..) this hotel is apparently one of the most popular places for international travelers in los angeles. they might have said the number one but i won't claim that much fame. it is a neat spanish style hotel.. i'm into it. it isn't a five star hotel but it has character.
once here i dilly dallied (sp?) and chit chatted on skype. but come 17:00 AFS had me on a schedule. i'm into it all so far. there are ten kids here. they are all mostly sixteen, a couple seventeen. then there is me... nineteen. however, they are going for high school while i am volunteering and working to fully adopt a culture. also, eight of them are going to new zealand and one guy is going to malaysia for school. we all got along quite well and played some fun games. we got to eat at a restaurant here at the hotel for dinner and pick anything off the menu, AFS bought.
naturally, the Malaysian consulate general was suppose to join us for dinner but never showed... malaysia is not the most popular country for americans.. at all. so they haven't been able to follow their regualar rountine assistance for me, not one bit. in fact i was having to complete a survey on how all these different activities assisted in my preparation.. and out of seven activities... i only did two. (not my fault, they were never an option).
also, the community service year is not a common choice. so it is weird for them to be sending someone off in my situation.. these workers here in LA know less than the ones in malaysia apparently. i believe i will get a further debriefing upon my arrival in kuala lumper. the staff here doesn't know any more than me about what i will be doing exactly for my service and why i only have a temporary welcome placement family.
so tomorrow i have a pretty solid booked day with AFS, completing my gateway orientation, including watching Whale Rider? thoughts on that, anyone? then i head for LAX at 19:30 and fly out for hong kong at 22:20 --sorry all my times are odd with using world time and going in and out of different time zones. soon, it will just be malaysia's time, so set yo clocks fools! -or not and google the time like yours truly..
all i can do is pray that God protects me, placing me in a home and giving me a job that are in his will. plus, laughing about it helps too. i would be the person in this bizarre situation, but i know the Lord will take care of me and his angels are watching over me.
keep me in your prayers. life is about to get extreme.