My First Day in L.A.!

Wow, I can't believe I am in L.A.! It was a long trip to get here.

I left for the airport after work and was running behind. I was dropped off at the United terminal, but was at the wrong one! I had to walk nearly 10 minutes to the other side of the airport and go through agriculture - again. Then, I went through security and totally forgot I had a whole bunch of stuff that I shouldn't have had ... I had to toss my sun tan lotion out and dump out the water in my water bottle. I should've been better prepared, but I got out of work late and didn't have the chance to prepare. Oh well ...

After getting through security, I finally had the chance to grab lunch, which cost me nearly $15 bucks for a combo meal. It sure was expensive! I was glad to be eating lunch though since I hadn't eaten all day.

I boarded the plane and flew to Lihue, Kaui to connect to my flight heading to Los Angeles. This morning, I finally arrived. It sure has been quite an adventure!

Before flying to California, our plane had a maintenance issue, so we were an hour behind. People were getting impatient, but for some odd reason I was relaxed. I guess it's because I'd rather have maintenance take their time and resolve the issue, so that we can have a safe flight. Five hours later, I was more than happy to be here!

Once I flew into L.A.,, things got pretty interesting. There are a lot of friendly, interesting people here.

At the airport, I had a good laugh. I was taking a picture of a building, when from a distance I saw a security guard trying to jump into the photo. He was waving to get my attention and then he posed for me because he wanted to be in the picture. He definitely is a character.

When I arrived in L.A., I had to look for the supershuttle station. I eventually found it after walking for forever, since I didn't realize I had passed the first station. I sat at the super shuttle station, waiting for the super shuttle to arrive, which felt like forever. It's a great mode of transportation, although I definitely think you have to be pushy to get on! I was confused by the first guy who stopped because he didn't know where I needed to go, even though I showed him the map and told him. I could've swore he said to "come on in" so I was ready, but the next thing you know, he drove away. I sure was confused! Either I couldn't understand his accent or we had major miscommunication. The second driver, thankfully, stopped and let me in. He used the map I gave him and got me to my destination rather quickly.

I was so happy after I finally arrived at my destination -University of Southern California. It's my first time being in California and I've never seen a school more beautiful than this. Not yet at least! It's an amazingly beautiful school. The buildings are a sight to see, as well as the landscape. There are flowers everywhere and unusual trees I've never seen in my life. They even have a tram that takes students to various parts of the school. The school is HUGE. It took us nearly 25 minutes to get to the Health Services area, which is located farther away than the central campus. I had the chance to take a photo of the USC hospital, which I remember seeing in the movie "SICKO" and I also took a picture of the law building at the central campus, which was suppossedly featured in "Legally Blonde." Besides the school, there are amazingly beautiful churches around the area too!

Although USC is an amazingly beautiful school, the surrounding area seems quite dangerous. You definitely have to be careful walking around! I was pretty paranoid today (still am!) I feel like I need to relax. I love being here, but I definitely feel tense. Maybe I just need to get used to the way things are here ...

There's so much that we did today. I'll have to post some photos later.