I'm finally in San Diego!

My travels have been long and tiring, but I have reached my destination - San Diego, Ca, USA. Don't get the wrong idea here - it's not like I moved here. I'll live here for 6 weeks and then I go back home to Estonia. Those 6 weeks are not enough to become an American, but certainly enough to start a blog about all the goofy American things I see.

My travels were long indeed. It's been 25 hours during which I had 15 hours in an airplane. Actually it was more fun than it sounds. I like flying. I just don't like the airport procedures. In Stockholm I got off the plane at 7:55, then I got my luggage and soon found the appropriate check-in booth. "mhhh... why are there no people waiting here?". I got confused for only a moment and already someone came and asked me if they can help me. "I need to check in to the 9-o'clock plane going to New York." and I showed her my ticket print-out. "This check-in has now closed. Weren't you informed that the check-in ends an hour before the flight time? It's 15 min past 8 o'clock. But it's okay, go over there and talk to that man behind the counter and you'll be rescheduled for tomorrow's or day after tomorrow's flight." Oh crap. Tomorrow?! I have to spend a night in Stockholm?! Where exactly? But that wasn't my fault - my plane landed 1 hour and 5 min before the next flight was due, so there was no way in hell that I could have got my luggage and got to the check-in within less than 5 minutes. So I went and talked to the guy behind the counter and showed him my ticket sheet. Suddenly he got very alarmed because I had two consecutive flights with Continental Airlines - first to New York and then to San Diego. But you see, the San Diego flight is impossible to reschedule because it's so full all the time. He called security and they - THANK GOD - made an exception for me and checked my luggage separately and got me on the plane.

Canada being threatened by a huge cloud. They'll never know what hit them - one moment there is sun and the next moment there isn't.

Getting into USA is not that easy even with a visa. There are different applications and security checks, which seem tedious. However, I don't think it was much more difficult than any of the standard airport security stuff. All went well because all the people were so friendly and nice and helpful.

Greenland - not much is green here.

Actually my flight wasn't to New York like I said earlier... So there I was, I had just got on the plane at the last minute and someone just glanced at my ticket and let me on the plane. I was making myself comfortable and suddenly the pilot said, "...will be landing in New Jersey." WTF?! Am I on the wrong plane?! Maybe they didn't check my ticket properly. Where is New Jersey anyway? Ah, where is google when you most need it... Ok, If they're gonna land in New Jersey, then let it be so. At least it shall be closer to San Diego than Stockholm is! It's in USA, I know that much. :) What I didn't know, was that New Jersey is right next to New York. The international New York airport - Newark airport - is located in Newark, New Jersey. I was on the right plane.

Rainbow from above - amazing, isn't it?

The flight was the best I've ever had. Food and drinks and movies... Not just a random movie on a big screen. I had my own screen and I watched 3 movies that I had picked out. Food was tasty and personnel wonderful. Yay to Continental Airlines.

I had a lot of time to kill in Newark airport. After my 8-hour flight over the ocean I couldn't just sit. I took all my hand luggage with me and just walked for as long as I still had energy. People must have thought I was crazy - I walked past some of them at least 6 times. But walking felt good. Those were my first moments in USA - I saw the airport stores and all that. I walked past so much food and eventually ordered a hot chocolate. In Estonia, those are usually 150-200ml. The one I got there was at least 300ml. I threw some of it away. Then I wanted to buy water. Just simple water. One bottle cost over $3 and it was more expensive than soda. How much could it possibly cost to put clean spring water into a clean bottle and seal it. Maybe it was just an airport thing though, they make you throw away all liquids, so you have to buy new one and you're willing to pay anything for it.

Looks so warm here and it is!

Well... Eventually I got to San Diego and I got to my new apartment. Ah I love it here. It reminds me of my favourite vacation to Egypt where we lived in a really cute hotel with a swimming pool outside and plants everywhere. There is a swimming pool outside in here as well, for people who live in this apartment complex. And palm trees and other warm climate plants... Ah, it's so nice here. Okay, off to bed now.

This bed is bigger than the one I have at home.