As I said, more to come. I thought the night started off great with me being TSA pre-checked and smooth sailing to our gate. I bought some snacks, walked around, and began blogging. I felt productive and excited to finally be going to our last stop: Cornell University. I boarded to plane to find that I had a window seat! I was excited and knew that I would walk off the flight with a quite a few pictures of the wing tips and clouds. There was an empty seat next to me and then at the aisle seat a man sat down and immediately put his headphones in; I could tell right away that I would not be talking to him much during his flight and was right when throughout the entirety of our travels he was eating.
A lady came and sat down in the middle seat, her name was Laura and I told her how I was going to New York for the first time with my chaperone and cohort all the way from the other side of the country. She told me she knew a few people who go to and went to Cornell which was interesting and that she was going to New York for a conference for work, she is a lactation consultant and absolutely loves what she does. The way she talked about her career and her eyes lit up describing how she was in her 50's continuing to pursue her interest made me reflect on the things we do and why we do them; how it shapes us to be who we are. One of the concepts she was firm on was that nursing, etc. is something natural and doctors don't understand that.
I told her I could relate to what she was saying because no one has lived with our bodies our whole lives except for us, so we would know best since it is our instinct to detect any abnormalities. I shared with her growing up I didn't understand certain things about mental health since it was never discussed; how as I became more mature I learned more about myself and what it is that I need. Laura also shared her opinions on vaccines and some stories about her kids' high school experiences. I appreciated how open she was and willing she was to talk to me about my high school experience and my plans for the future.
The plane was very small, so small that if I stood up fully while next to the seat my head would hit the compartment for baggage. the flight was even less than an hour, I was amazed looking out the window at all the greenery which was so different to the city I saw when leaving San Francisco and Chicago. We arrived in Syracuse in the middle of the day and took a shuttle to the Ithaca airport where we claimed our baggage and even found Javaria's. The scenery was beautiful on the way to Cornell and I was in awe that such a place even existed.
Her name is Miffy, and across from her is a girl named Bella who is all the way from Taiwan! We went and grabbed lunch and talked with a lot of different students taking different courses; afterwards we walked around and just got to know each other more before gathering in front of Balch for ice-cream. I met a girl named Sara who is also from Pakistan and came to America for the first time this summer for this program. It really hit me then how much people wanted to be a part of the summer college program here at Cornell. I went back to my dorm to get myself situated before having our floor meeting with our RA, her name is Emma and she was super sweet and helpful in giving us all the information we needed.
I have to admit, I am very glad and grateful to finally be here, but I do feel very homesick. Maybe because it's Eid tomorrow and this is the first time I am completely alone. Or because I am alone in my dorm room. But tomorrow is a new day and I am meeting my friends and more of my peers in this experience before classes start very soon. I miss home but I am here only for a short while and intend to make the most of it.
I can understand the homesick feeling. I'm thankful for everything you and Javaria have done as far as helping me understand how Ramadan and Eid work--perhaps try teaching another person about it. They'll appreciate it and maybe it'll help you feel better about it.
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