On July 6th, I awoke to my 3:00 AM alarm. After a brief send-off from my mother and sister, my father drove us to the airport. While excited, I was also nervous about flying unaccompanied by a known adult. Fortunately, a school friend was joining me. We grabbed smoothies and waited at our gate before boarding our flight to New York. I was pleased to have a window seat with an empty middle seat. I slept for most of the flight, landing in New York at 2:45 PM.

After getting food, we waited at the charging station before heading to our next gate. There, we met other students participating in the leadership collective. We boarded our 8:00 PM flight to New Delhi. This time, I had a middle seat and was anxious about the 14-hour flight. It was difficult to get comfortable. We landed in New Delhi at 11:00 PM in hot, humid weather. Despite being in India, my immediate thought was hunger. After an hour in immigration, we met Tabish outside, got KFC (which tasted better than in the US), and went to the hostel. I prepared for bed and slept through the night.