Bahamas

It's back to sunshine and palm trees for me.

Yesterday morning at 7:15am, I said goodbye to Saugus after a very short 5 day visit, and made my way to the airport with my dad and brother. The airport was crazy busy, and we didn't even make it through bag check and security until 8:40. The flight was supposed to leave at 9:09, so we would have just made it, but it actually ended up being delayed for about 2 hours, so we were just fine. In the airport, I actually ended up sitting down next to 3 other SAS kids. The 3 of them didn't know each other either, so it was a very strange coincidence. There was also 4 or 5 more SAS kids on the flight, weird, but I guess it makes sense. It gave us all 2 full days in the Bahamas, which I think is a good amount.

Anyway, in the airport I called Dain one last time, and turning my phone off and knowing it won't be back on for months was so, so hard. It brought more tears and re-enforced how hard this will be. As soon as we got to the Bahamas and went through immigration and customs, we got a taxi to our resort, the Wyndham, and checked in. We made it up to our room where I immediately paid for the internet and logged on to talk to Dain again. I also knew I had to go out and meet people, and I knew I wanted to as well. Sitting up here crying really does nothing positive for me. So I went to the lobbyand met some SAS Kids down there for a while. Then my dad, brother and I went to dinner at some sketchy place that didn't know what gluten was and served me bread with my "plain steak with no sides." Eating in these ports will certaintly be no Disney. After that we came back to the hotel and I found a bunch of SAS kids in the lobby, so we started talking and decided to go to the hottub. So I went upstairs and changed, and when I got to the hottub, a bunch of people were in jeans and the ones that weren't had decided not to go in anyway! Oh well. So instead we all made our way over the bar at the hotel casino, picking up more SAS kids along the way. I met a girl that I instantly feel connected to. Her name is Jesi, and everyone kept asking us if we were friends from home, but we had really only met like an hour ago. It feels great to already know a few people, and it eased my nerves a lot. Eventually, Jesi and a few other people that we met, Laura, Issac, and Sam, went to the hottub over at the Sheraton, which is the resort next door..but I left after an hour because I promised Dain I would be back at 11:00 sharp to skype. I am trying my best to balance meeting SAS kids with fufilling my desires of wanting to see his face and hear his voice. It's hard though, because every time I am not occupied I start to cry and I want nothing more than to get on a plane to Detroit and see him. When I was hanging out with those SAS kids, I wasn't thinking about it at all, and I know i'll have a blast on this adventure, I just think the first week will be hard.

Anyway, I went to sleep around 1, and woke up around 9 this morning. I'm taking a shower soon, and heading to the Straw Market with the family. Tonight, some SAS kids are meeting in the lobby to go out, so i'll be there. As long as I keep occupied, i'll stay excited and stop crying. I just keep telling myself the hardest day has passed...and the next 15 weeks will fly by and be the best time of my life.