Back in the Big Apple

I landed at JFK airport at 10pm (EST) last night. It felt like time had stopped because I left NZ on Feb 9 and arrived in NYC on the same date. Yay, that means I have today to recuperate before going back to work on Monday. Well, not really. It's more about getting back into things by paying bills, doing laundry and groceries, retroactively updating this blog, uploading photos. I'll try to get as much done as possible.

Going through security at the Christchurch airport was quick and easy! No lines. Especially since there was an incident there the night before. There was an attempted hijacking of a plane that was landing in Christchurch (it was a domestic flight). The hijacker, a woman, had somehow brought a knife on board. A few people were cut but the suspect was eventually overpowered and arrested. I flew domestic to Auckland, where I caught my flight to LA. Once in Auckland, I had to pay a $25 NZ airport fee before I could go through customs and security. Customs and security in NZ is so fast because there are less people...it's great!

The flight out of Auckland was delayed due to mechanical problems. Thankfully, they caught it before we flew 12 hrs over the ocean! We were put onto another airplane, to my relief. There were many crying children going onto this lonnng flight. They are such annoying little buggers. One mother said she always brings a few earplugs with her for passengers sitting nearby in case her kid pipes up but she's "never needed them". Meanwhile, the kid (toddler) had been wailing for the last 10 min and "he's usually never like this". Sure, lady. I think airplanes should have a special area for families with small children. Like First Class, but in a sound-proof room.