We're now on the other side of the Earth

After leaving our homes at a ridiculous hour in the morning for the next six months, we're here and still alive! Each of our plane rides was unique. It was Keeyon's first time on a plane, and Des Moines International Airport wasn't super excited about his attempt to bring more liquids that can fit in a quart-size ziplock baggie. Carley and Keeyon met Robert in Chicago to fly across the ocean, and then they had a 13-hour flight to Tokyo! Lydia was a little stressed at first because she wasn’t on the same flight as Carley, Keeyon, and Robert, but it ended up being a little lucky: turns out Buzz Aldrin was on one of her flights (made known via overhead announcement), but unfortunately he wasn’t sporting his moon suit so she couldn’t tell which one he was.

So, after a 1-hour, then 13-hour, then 7-hour, then 2-hour bus ride, we made it to Thailand!! Our hotel is ridiculously nice – complete with five pools, a spa and health center, a library, plush robes and slippers, and about a jillion cool-looking hanging green plants adorning the lobby. Oh and did I mention the beach is just to the right after you walk out the front door?

We haven’t had much time to explore, but we did find Thai Coca-Cola light (the caffeine is REALLY helping us get through Jet Lag!) Carley was ecstatic to find Tim-Tams (a kind of fudge cookie that’s not sold in the US) and we hope to do the Tim-Tam slam (ask Carley for directions on how-to) as a mandatory team-building activity soon!