A Never Ending Journey

It’s 8:14 PM local time and we’re still in Chicago, IL. We left San Francisco INT Airport a little bit behind schedule, but ended up arriving in Chicago right on time. After the three hour flight, I was tired and hungry. We left the plane and started looking for a place to eat, but we had no idea where we were going, and everyone we seemed to ask gave us different instructions. Finally, we settled down at a Macaroni Grill. I ordered a dish called “Penne Russtica” it was baked pasta with shrimp and chicken, combined together with a creamy white sauce. It was delicious.

Now we find out our flight has been delayed, it should have left at 7 PM and now it won’t leave until 10:05 PM. We figure we might get to the hotel sometime around 2 AM.

I’m amazed at how strict United Airlines is with their carry-on luggage! Earlier today I was trying to walk into the security check and I was stopped by security because I had a purse, a lap-top bag, and a carry-on suitcase. According to him, a purse counts as a full on bag, and I had to condense my purse into my carry-on suitcase. I walked off to the side and simply put the items that were in my purse inside my carry-on suitcase. Mrs. Kaplan kindly offered to take her purse inside of my purse so that we wouldn’t fall behind schedule. Once past security, I placed everything inside my carry-on and no longer had the problem of a third “luggage.” It’s never happened to me before, and I really don’t think there’s a point, either way I brought in the same amount of items, the distribution was the only thing that changed. A small piece of advice for next time, don’t try to carry a purse around.

The flight started out alright, it wasn’t anything too bad. The landing, was terrible. I’m slightly fond of motion sickness, and having the plane drop suddenly, then shake, then drop again, settle down, and then shake again was not fun. I felt as if my brain was literally tossing and turning inside of my head. Not to mention, the fact that I probably would have slept through all of it, had one of the flight attendants not felt the need to wake me up from my lovely nap. She needed me to move my knee and asked me if I wanted anything to drink. Finally the plane stopped and I was standing next to my seat, waiting to bring down my luggage from the compartments when someone accidentally hits me on my head with their luggage. What a flight experience.

Within minutes after landing the sky turned a dark shade of grey and it started pouring. The airport windows looked as if someone was continuously pouring buckets of water on them. Not only was there rain, there was also thunder and lightning, which explains our flight’s delay. Now I look outside the airport windows and it seems almost unreal. The clouds are a light shade of pink, with a hint of yellow, the atmosphere has changed from gloomy and upsetting to a light shade of an uplifting yellow pastel. I’ve never seen anything like it.

It’s been a long journey so far, and it doesn’t look like it’s coming to an end anytime soon. I think after some rest at the hotel we’ll be able to start new tomorrow. We need to keep a positive attitude, even when unforeseen changes occur. Things don’t always go as planned. All of this is part of our learning experience. We’re learning how to deal with the unexpected. These blogs we’re all writing are a perfect example, we’ve taken the initiative to write our blogs now so that when we finally arrive in Syracuse we’ll be able to sleep and prepare for tomorrow morning.

It’s been a long day, currently it’s 10:43 PM, and there’s so much confusion around us, we don’t even know when we’re supposed to be leaving or boarding or anything.

Our never ending journey will come to an end soon, hopefully.

It's Like "The Terminal"

Our day began with an air of ambition. The seven Cornellians (along with Ms. Kaplan and Mr. Ramsey) met this morning at El Cerrito High to begin their Ithican Journey. I stood in front of the school with mixed feelings about my situation at the time. On the one hand, I could not wait for our airport shuttle to arrive so that we could embark. On the other, I just wanted to go back to sleep so that I could catch more than five hours of wonderful slumber. But alas, I had to be rid of longings for sleep because I expect that my sleeping schedule will not be getting any better in the weeks to come. Nonetheless I was anxious to begin my life-changing journey.

By about 8:40, it was time to say our good-bye’s to our parents and jump into the airport shuttle. On the way to the San Francisco Airport, as I watched the plethora of iPad, Coca-Cola and Toy Story 3 billboards greet me and then suddenly wave fare well, I pondered what my experience over the next three weeks would entail. For the first time ever since I learned that I would attend the Freedom and Justice Course, my head was spinning with thoughts of how my short-lived Cornell life would pan out. All of a sudden, I wanted to know if I would have a roommate, if I would remember what stand a certain philosopher took in a certain situation, if we would even get a chance to see the “Hotellies” after Sunday, etc. It was a little overwhelming.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at the airport and we were checking our luggage. Our time in the terminal was a whirlwind. We began at the security checkpoint. Surprisingly, the line moved fairly quickly and we were soon walking through the metal detector. Mr. Ramsey then treated us to breakfast at the Yankee Pier. We were in a huge rush, though, because we only had half an hour for a waitress to find a place to seat the nine of us, figure out what we wanted to eat and then eat. Luckily our waitress was more than accepting of our tight schedule and we promptly received our food. This was my first impression of airline food and I have to say that it wasn’t bad (at least not as bad as everyone makes it seem). We made it out on time and arrived at our gate shortly so there was nothing to worry about.

The first plane ride was nothing special. My activities included reading Plato, the Sermon on the Mount and the novel I brought with me. Reading occupied most of my time. In between works, I sketched a little bit and played some games on my iPod. This flight, even though it wasn’t extraordinary, was the highlight of my day. We landed around 5:00 PM (Chicago time).

It all went downhill once we arrived at the Chicago airport. Upon arrival, we discovered our flight to Syracuse had been delayed until 8:00 PM (from about 6:00). We then wandered around the terminals searching for a restaurant without a line extending across the food court and that could seat all nine of us. Eventually (after circling for what seemed forever) we stumbled upon a Macaroni Grill. We enjoyed a lovely meal and had fun relaxing. I played hangman with Chris and Dyana while we waited for our food. We were all having a good time until Mr. Ramsey returned from the flight board with tragic news: our flight was delayed even further…

At that point, our flight was scheduled to board at about 9:10. This was not a comforting thought considering it was only 6:30. We finished our meal at the Macaroni Grill and headed out once again. Upon passing more flight boards on the way to the restroom, we realized that the flight was also departing from a different gate! Our troubles seemed endless (and they still do). After wandering around for another hour or so, we found our gate. I was relieved until Mr. Ramsey brought horrid news once again. Our flight was delayed…AGAIN! This time it was delayed until 10:30! At that point we all just sat down, prepared for a long wait and began to blog about our day of never-ending snags.

As I began this blog, I realized that I didn’t have one picture taken from the day. Luckily the sun was setting and we had a beautiful view of the runway. I took advantage of my good fortune (ha ha) and snapped the picture you see below.

This picture is probably the only bit of good fortune I have had today. Even this shot has its downside though. Only two seconds after I got the picture, lightning flashed in the background. I literally sat, mouth agape, and pondered just how bad my timing was.

My heart soared within the next twenty minutes after taking the photo. They had changed the boarding time of our flight back to 9:00, and it was about fifteen minutes until we were supposed to board! So I packed up my laptop, camera and tripod as fast as I could and rushed down to the floor below. We began waiting patiently for our boarding announcement… that still has not come. Right now it is 10:49. I am extremely tired and I am just about ready to set up camp in the terminal.

In case you haven’t picked up on it by now, the title of the blog is a reference to the movie The Terminal. I have never seen the film, but from what I understand, Tom Hanks has to live in an airport terminal. The nine of us have been here for about five hours now. I’m about ready to rip my hair out (which would be a blessing to some people). I really don’t want to make this blog any more negative than it already is, so I’m going to cut off my rant here.

Until tomorrow (which will hopefully be a much better day) this is Alex Elms and I’m signing off.

Cornellians TRY to get to Ithaca

Packed to the gills for their 24 day adventure in Ithaca our Cornell cohorts met at El Cerrito HS early on June 23rd where they had their baggage weighed, received their laptop security cables, took a solemn oath to blog every day and then hopped on their airport shuttle to take them on the first leg of their adventure at Cornell.

Studying under Professor Kramnick in his course: Freedom & Justice: An Introduction to Political Philosophy are Alex Elms, Andrew Gonzales, Andrew Woo and Dyana So.  Across campus Jacky Lares, Beilul and Chris Habash will study under Professors Reneta and Mark McCarthy in the course: Hotel Operations Management: Tactics for Profitability.  Both of these courses are rigorous endeavors but the education learned there has, in the past, been invaluable tools for our ILC team members.

Although their collective travel plans were well mapped out there was little they could do when Chicago's O'Hare Airport was shut down due to extreme weather conditions.  There just seems to be something about aircraft and tornados (with lightning) that aren't a good mix.

The Cornell contingent spent their first night in a variety of airport lounges as they were moved from gate to gate and had the opportunity to enjoy some of the finest cuisine available in late night airport eateries before their flight was finally cancelled.

Along for the ride, ILC Administrator Charles Ramsey had to scramble to find an alternative means of getting to Ithaca in the shortest amount of time.  Their current plans--always subject to change--now includes a flight to Hanford, CT where they may then enjoy a four hour van ride to Ithaca.

We wish them well.

An Unexpected Start

Day 01/The Adventure Begins!

(from June 23rd)

I woke up early this morning, well aware what was waiting for me in the next 24 hours. Well, generally anyway. In one hour, my parents and I helped to get me ready for the start of a grand summer at Cornell University: departure day. By arriving at around 8 AM at our meeting spot at El Cerrito High School, we thought we would be one of the earliest groups there. We were wrong. Apparently, my fellow Cornellians and their family also had the same idea; they arrived earlier than the requested time of 8:15 AM. This was great progress, and the day had barely begun!

(Jacky Lares as she looks outside her window at San Francsico)

Saying farewell to my parents wasn't too hard, but I'll admit that I will definitely miss seeing them each day. I am also very thankful that my parents are quite understanding - they know that a young individual cannot grow up if you keep them away from the world all of their lives. This was something they never did to me and I am glad that as a mere sophomore, I get a chance to experience so many things academically.

(Beilul and Andrew G. at the SFO Airport)

Despite a reckless driver almost colliding with our shuttle bus as we departed from El Cerrito High School, we encountered little traffic and made good time once we arrived at SFO airport. There, we performed the expected airport check-in procedures. I am glad I took my parents’ advice, in terms of bringing a nice big, comfortable backpack as a carry-on. It made traveling a lot easier.

Since there was still some time before our first plane left San Francisco for Chicago, Mr. Ramsey treated us all to "Yankee Pier", a nice sit-in restaurant that, coincidentally, was themed "East Coast". I ate a big breakfast before I left so I didn't wish to eat anymore. While other people might enjoy this, I am not too fond of getting aboard a plane with a full stomach, especially if you're a sensitive flyer like I am.

I know what you might be imagining now: Wing, you must have had such a boring time watching everyone eat a delicious breakfast while you sat there with nothing! Well, you'd be wrong. Ms. Kaplan, being the thoughtful chaperone that she was, had prepared some quotes from our "Freedom and Justice" course and wanted us to try and identify the philosophers who said these quotes. I managed to get some correct, but because I wasn't 100% correct, I know what I'll need to brush up more on.

When it came to boarding, I'll admit I was dreading it a little bit. I am no stranger to airplane travel; but after so many 14 hour flights to Hong Kong as a child, I couldn't help but visualize a long and uncomfortable confinement to an airplane chair. I was the first among the nine of us to board the plane and was happy to discover that I had a window seat. I sat at the right side of the plane, just a couple of seats down from one of the plane’s wings. If you ask me, I thought it was such an appropriate seat for me....Wing besides a wing.

(view from my plane window - a gorgeous snowy mountain view!)

Andrew Gonzales and Christopher Habash sat in front of me, and I had the pleasure of sitting next to Beilul Naizghi during my flight. Jacky sat besides Beilul and Alex besides Andrew Gonzales. Mr. Ramsey, Ms. Kaplan, and Andrew Woo sat with strangers. If it came down to it, I'd have no problem sitting next to a complete stranger, but I wouldn't mind sitting with someone familiar either. The Cornellians sitting around me spoke to each other from time to time, but for the most part, we were all engaged in something of our own during our three hour flight to Chicago. For instance, I spent my time catching up on my drawings and taking several photos of some gorgeous landscapes. It proved to be a great distracter from any boredom I was afraid to face on the plane.

The most memorable part of our first flight was probably the nearing end, when we experienced mild turbulence. While the other passengers appear to be "rollercoaster chasers", Beilul and I were definitely not prepared for the sudden dips and bumps of our plane ride. To this hour, Alex and Andrew Gonzales won't stop reminding Beilul and me just how "childishly" we reacted on the plane. But I assure you, it was short-lived. After all, we are fearless ILC ambassadors. :-)

Chicago airport had an interesting architectural design, which was also the first thing I noticed about our stop. Immediately, the warmth and humidity started to sink in. There were people everywhere. In fact, there were so many that people resorted to sitting in random areas on the floor when they couldn't find vacant seats to sit in. Unfortunately, we didn't have the luxury to sit around the Chicago airport as a thunderstorm raged on outside. (Hello Midwest weather!) Instead, we followed behind Mr. Ramsey, as he searched the entire airport for the perfect sit-in restaurant for dinner.

(Mr. Ramsey walking around O'Hare Airport)

We spent literally 20 minutes walking back and forth around the airport. Mr. Ramsey had to ask more than 5 people working in the airport for directions. Remember how, earlier in this post when I expressed how thankful I was that I decided to carry a backpack? Well, by this point, I wasn't so thrilled. Believe me; I was in no way happy to be reliving my freshman days, where I had to saddle more than 10 pounds on my back from class to class. The difference here, I guess, was that this time, it was a little shy of 20 pounds and we were walking around in complete, nonstop circles.

But, I've always been a believer of the famous saying: "Good things come to those who wait” and I was right to think so. We finally settled on "Romano's Macaroni Grill" for dinner and being so hungry from our "workout", I was ready to sit down and enjoy some delicious Italian food! I stood in front of the large menu, gawking at all the various dishes I could try, as we waited in a long line that didn't take as long as we all thought.

There was little room for all nine of us to sit together. However, despite the limited space, we managed to sit comfortably with one another and settle on our various dinner choices. For dinner, I ordered a Chicken and Shrimp Scaloppini (yum!), a side Cesar Salad, and a Coke beverage. The food did take awhile, but that was perfectly fine because we had just found out that to our utter dismay, our last flight to Syracuse was delayed a whole 3 hours than originally scheduled!

(Andrew Gonzales, Andrew Woo, and Mr. Ramsey at "Romano's Macaroni Grill")

Yes, I was hungry and tired, but I also didn't want to arrive at the hotel at midnight or later! Yet, what my wishes were, there was no use in arguing with mother nature. If the weather was keeping your plane from taking off, the most you can do is grin, bear it, and wait. Luckily we got to do most of this over dinner.

I really enjoyed my Chicken and Shrimp Scaloppini, but being what I consider, a "taste chaser", I found that some of the meat was a tad bit salty. Regardless though, food is food; it's when you don't have food to eat at all should one really be complaining. Dinner came and went, quietly and quickly. All of us were leaned back in our seats, very full from our main courses. Mr. Ramsey was aware of this, but still believed we had room for some dessert. He ordered one dish of New York Cheesecake and the seven of us took turn at attacking the delicious little morsel. Needless to say, the tiny thing disappeared like a snap of a finger.

(New York Cheesecake for dessert!)

Once dinner was over, we all knew what was ahead: a long wait for our delayed flight to Syracuse. To make up the time, we took Mr. Ramsey's advice and started blogging at the Chicago Airport. So, here I am. Currently, sitting next to Ms. Kaplan as I speak to all of you back at home. I've been here long enough to have a yellow sky turn to sepia turn to navy blue. I've been here long enough to see the threatening thunderstorm outside subside. I've been here long enough to see a glimpse of a rainbow once, and have it disappear when I turned my head to look at it again.

Some of us are restless; some of us are ready to rest. I, for one, am restless, and anxious to get on board the Syracuse flight. Chicago is nice and all, but it's time to keep going. I'm ready to start the new and exciting day known as tomorrow!

Despite all the ups and downs of today, I had a great time getting to know the other eight people traveling with me today. From both talking and watching them, I was able to extract some of their likes and dislikes, what makes them smile and what makes them tick. We will be sticking together for a long time and I'm glad that even in a dreadful Chicago storm, we're able to get closer and closer as a Cornell group!

We are nearing boarding time so I am going to start signing off here. Today may not have gone as it was originally planned, but it's like Mr. Ramsey told us over dinner: "don't always expect things to go perfectly; today was a good lesson on that." I look forward to what other wisdom Mr. Ramsey will provide us for the short time that he will be sticking with us. I am very glad that we had the honor to have him tag along with us first; thank you Mr. Ramsey!

The gates to our plane will open in a short while and I look forward to seeing what our hotel at Syracuse will be like! Good night/good day, whoever and wherever you are! I am very thankful that the ILC has given me the opportunity to travel in such an independent fashion. I can feel myself growing up already. (But not too much, so don't worry Mom and Dad.)

An aside: I promised my friend, Erin Miller, that I'd make a shout-out to her in my next blog, so here it is. Also, good luck to your brother, Connor Miller, as he will be heading for Yale later on this summer! In addition, to Winston Long for Columbia; you two are the last ones left from our high school. Make us all proud and have a great time!

All Flights Stopped, More than 375 Flights at O'Hare Cancelled Because of Stormy Weather

Chicago - All flights at O'Hare and Midway have been stopped, as a severe storm rips through the area. More than 375 flights in and out of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport were canceled Wednesday because of severe weather, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.

The thunderstorms also caused delays of an hour or more at O’Hare and delays averaging 45 minutes at Midway International Airport.

The National Weather Service had predicted heavy rain with localized flooding, strong winds, hail and isolated tornadoes for Illinois and northwest Indiana.

My Departing Words

Well, this is it.

In less than twelve hours, I will be at the front of El Cerrito High School with my fellow Cornellians, waiting to take the shuttle bus to SF airport and board our flight to the East Coast. A lot is going through my head right now, specifically the wave of emotions I feel towards going to Cornell in a matter of days.

There is so much in store for us in the next couple of weeks, so many wonderful and unknown adventures just waiting for us. I get very thrilled just thinking about all the new things we will see, experience, try, and learn. It makes it even more exciting when I think about how everything that we will be doing, won't just be for ourselves, but will also be for the people back home. It is truly an honor to be an ILC ambassador for the WCCUSD and I continue to thank everyone that has made such a wonderful program possible, from the bottom of my heart.

I'm also no stranger to the recent activities of my fellow ILC Brownies. Ever since they left for the East Coast, I've been reading their blogs, and I have to say - it's inspiring! It's one thing to hear from alums and the adults when it comes to what summer at Cornell will be like, but it's also another to hear from a fellow peer's own experience in their respected schools. Their adventures constantly make me wonder what will be in store for us, once we get there as well.

As it is getting late and everything I need for my trip is packed and ready, all that awaits me now is sleep. I just hope that all this excitement won't keep me from getting some good rest!

See you later on the other side of the country!

I Can Almost Taste It...

Tuesday night was our last pre-trip monumental event. The Ivy League Connection congregated at the astonishingly beautiful El Cerrito High School for our orientation night. This evening was all about asking any last minute questions and going over our itineraries. We learned a little bit about laptop safety, socialization rules, how our meals will be paid for etc. Many people would not view this event as anything extraordinary. I can see why; on the surface, it just appears to be an average orientation. But to anyone involved in the ILC, whether they are a chaperone, scholar, parent or supporter, this night represents the final step. Now, there is nothing between us and the plane that will be transporting us back East. This was a huge night. There is nothing in our way now. I’m so close… well you’ve already read the title of this blog so you know how that sentence ends.

Anyway, we are almost there and I grow more anxious by the day. As time goes on, more and more questions about my journey spring into my mind. I can’t wait to figure out who I will meet, what kind of pictures I will be able to take, how much sleep I am going to lose reading about Locke, Marx and Plato, as well as about another hundred tiny details about the travels ahead of me. Only time will tell.

Unless something unexpected comes up between now and June 23 (the day we arrive in New York), this is my last blog until our adventure begins. Until then, this is Alex Elms signing off.