Int’l Departure, Gate 41

LAX was surprisingly quick through check-in and security. Matthew, our Annenberg study abroad contact (& real live Briton!) suggested that we arrive at the airport 3 hours ahead of time. Thanks to my intense parents, I was there 3 ½ hours early.

Coming into this program, I didn’t know a single person. As I sat at Gate 41, feeling like a lame overachiever, I noticed a girl wandering around. She took out a ticket that had an emblem on its jacket that was identical to mine. Before I could stop myself, I made eye contact and added a little wave and big smile. She came over, and sure enough, she is here for the Annenberg London semester. Sometimes my impulsive outgoing-ness has its benefits : )

Turns out that she’s Brazilian and a rather good 3D animator. I liked her immediately. And evidently the feeling is mutual.
She told me quite openly, “I’m glad you’re cool.”
“What do you mean?” I said, quite amused.
“I was worried about what kind of people were going to study abroad in London,” was the reply.
“You mean like sorority girls?” I asked.
“Yeah, exactly!”

In the couple hours at the gate, I met 13 of the 16 students that will be in our program. They are a good group—my personal intuition/opinion tells me : )