Weary, distant, glazed over stares of 30 or so J Squad World Racers affirm this (^) thought, but not without validation. Most of us were awake by 2:30 AM to be in the hotel lobby by 3:00 AM to be on a shuttle by 3:15 AM to go to Chicago O’Hare airport and be checked in and at our gate by 4:30 AM! (Some of us, like yours truly, never went to sleep last night, thinking this would be an easier alternative to the early morning. Tell that to the presumably-to-passers-by dead body that was me around 4:45, conked out on the airport floor in my trust eye mask and ear plugs.) The rest of the day went been much like this: Get to immediate destination, wait a bit, hurry to next destination, sleep some, wake up in time to pee and get coffee, don’t miss the flight, sleep some more, pray for ears to pop, take advantage of more chances to pee, find food, share food with friends, nap, steal a pillow to nap on, get an another plane, realize this plane is going out of the country, hold your pee, see gorgeous views from a plane window, fill out customs card, arrive in Santo Domingo, snag blanket from air plane, wait for VISAs, discover international phone plan is crappy, retrieve baggage, camp in airport food court, find Nutella flavored ice cream, consent to purchase Skype Premium, wait for second group of J Squad to arrive, have dance party while waiting, work on budget while waiting, eat Empanadas while waiting, and on and on and on… The day came close to an end with the second half of J Squad arriving around 9:45 PM, then the whole gang (minus one team who will spend their month in Santo Domingo) loaded on some SWEET air conditioned buses for a 4-hour ride to San Juan. Luckily for my team, our journey only went 2.5 hours more until we reached Azua, DR., and Pastor Raul met us in his truck to take us to home, where Sansa, his wife was waiting with food on the table and beds ready to fall into. THANK GOD! Let’s just say, travel days are exhausting, but they are AWESOME and I sincerely think they will become a favorite part of The World Race for me!
