Due to weather problems, we stayed an additional 2.5 hours on the plane as rain poured, lightening smashed and thunder boomed. This lengthened our original 10 hours flight from DC to Moscow. This would be my last time in Dulles and American soil for quite a while–10 months, I suppose? The in-flight dinner was good, and our seats were nice with extra legroom. The flight instructions were mostly in Russian and English. Every time the crew chimed in with “Captain”, I thought I heard my name instead. On the small screen, I watched Disney Pixar’s “Cars” in Russian and also listened to American pop songs when I could not sleep.
Customs was easy. We all wore our blue AFS t-shirts, and there were no problems. My luggage handle doesn’t work, so carrying the bags was a bit tedious, but at least, that is only a short period of time. Camp is on the outskirts of Moscow, with an hour’s van ride away from the airport. We had a nice view of the country-side, or what appeared to be the fields during the trip toward campgrounds.
The first night at camp was nice. All five of the American girls share a second-floor room and five beds. It still has not occurred to me that I am in Russia. I am still in my comfort zone by hanging out with the Americans, and speaking too much English.