July 28, 2012
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA -- Just as you lose an entire day crossing the international date line heading westbound, you gain one heading eastbound. The net result of this is you actually land even earlier than you left.
After departing our hotel we got to SYD and checked into our flight. We filled out our exit immigration cards, said an emotional goodbye to our incredible delegation manager Anthony, and proceeded through security. When we got to the duty-free area, we found out that as luck would have it, our flight was delayed three hours. Qantas gave us each a $30 (!!!) meal voucher, and eventually we departed around 4pm on July 28th from SYD.
One massive ocean and a particularly short night later, we landed at LAX on July 28th... at 12pm noon. Ah, the fun of international travel. :)
The flight itself was fine - we were on a newer (and thus nicer) plane than our LAX-BNE flight, and almost everyone got at least some sleep. One thing that was immediately noticeable was that after two weeks in cities and countryside that were pretty much completely pollution-free, we were landing into a typical summer day in Los Angeles - you know, where you can't see more than 5-10 miles in front of you.
On a complete side tangent, I will say that this summer has been noticeably better on the pollution front in LA. Overall, having visited here multiple times per year going back to 2005, it has actually become noticeably better pretty much every year. Turns out when you quadruple clean-energy production, double the efficiency of all electronics sold, and tax gasoline to the point everyone drives hybrid cars, it actually makes a huge difference. Sure, LA is still the most polluted city in the USA, but I am happy to report that it seems to be making strides in the right direction.
For about half of us, our trip came to an end at LAX. We said goodbye to the PA delegates at baggage claim, and they set off through customs to their connecting flight to Philadelphia. We got through customs, walked up and around the ramp, and within about 30 seconds all of the students were reunited with their families. Only later did I find out that the PA students missed their flight, spent the night at LAX, and got back to PHL late on Monday, but it sounds like they had a good time, and everyone is safely home.
To our DM Anthony, thank you for your endless passion and enthusiasm that never waned in two weeks of traveling with us. It was educational and fun, and this trip would simply not have been such a great time without you. To all of my co-teachers, it was great traveling with you, and I look forward to doing it again soon - in CA, PA, internationally, with PTP, or otherwise. To the parents who I have met multiple times here in CA, and those from PA who were posting on facebook every hour or two, thank you for your support and engagement - I hope you learned a lot through this and felt like you were with us along the way! Lastly, to all of our students, I hope you had the trip of a lifetime. Like any experience, you get out of life what you put into it. Many of you wrote detailed, informative, and emotional journals, took excellent photographs, and made life-long friends with Australians and your fellow American students. Believe it or not, the best part is in front of you. Now you get to share your experiences with the rest of the world. Let the things that you have seen and done shape you, and you will be forever better off for having had these couple of weeks abroad.
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA -- Just as you lose an entire day crossing the international date line heading westbound, you gain one heading eastbound. The net result of this is you actually land even earlier than you left.
After departing our hotel we got to SYD and checked into our flight. We filled out our exit immigration cards, said an emotional goodbye to our incredible delegation manager Anthony, and proceeded through security. When we got to the duty-free area, we found out that as luck would have it, our flight was delayed three hours. Qantas gave us each a $30 (!!!) meal voucher, and eventually we departed around 4pm on July 28th from SYD.
One massive ocean and a particularly short night later, we landed at LAX on July 28th... at 12pm noon. Ah, the fun of international travel. :)
The flight itself was fine - we were on a newer (and thus nicer) plane than our LAX-BNE flight, and almost everyone got at least some sleep. One thing that was immediately noticeable was that after two weeks in cities and countryside that were pretty much completely pollution-free, we were landing into a typical summer day in Los Angeles - you know, where you can't see more than 5-10 miles in front of you.
On a complete side tangent, I will say that this summer has been noticeably better on the pollution front in LA. Overall, having visited here multiple times per year going back to 2005, it has actually become noticeably better pretty much every year. Turns out when you quadruple clean-energy production, double the efficiency of all electronics sold, and tax gasoline to the point everyone drives hybrid cars, it actually makes a huge difference. Sure, LA is still the most polluted city in the USA, but I am happy to report that it seems to be making strides in the right direction.
For about half of us, our trip came to an end at LAX. We said goodbye to the PA delegates at baggage claim, and they set off through customs to their connecting flight to Philadelphia. We got through customs, walked up and around the ramp, and within about 30 seconds all of the students were reunited with their families. Only later did I find out that the PA students missed their flight, spent the night at LAX, and got back to PHL late on Monday, but it sounds like they had a good time, and everyone is safely home.
To our DM Anthony, thank you for your endless passion and enthusiasm that never waned in two weeks of traveling with us. It was educational and fun, and this trip would simply not have been such a great time without you. To all of my co-teachers, it was great traveling with you, and I look forward to doing it again soon - in CA, PA, internationally, with PTP, or otherwise. To the parents who I have met multiple times here in CA, and those from PA who were posting on facebook every hour or two, thank you for your support and engagement - I hope you learned a lot through this and felt like you were with us along the way! Lastly, to all of our students, I hope you had the trip of a lifetime. Like any experience, you get out of life what you put into it. Many of you wrote detailed, informative, and emotional journals, took excellent photographs, and made life-long friends with Australians and your fellow American students. Believe it or not, the best part is in front of you. Now you get to share your experiences with the rest of the world. Let the things that you have seen and done shape you, and you will be forever better off for having had these couple of weeks abroad.
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