Yale didn't accept women till 1969?!?!?!

After an arduous 24 hours, I've made it to New Haven, CT safely. My journey began at the Greyhound station at 2:00 Monday afternoon, where the freshman behind the counter failed to weigh my suitcase before the bus arrived (he said it didn't look that heavy). As a result, I had a whirlwind panic of throwing $20 at him to pay for my overweight luggage, while at the same time digging out things to send home with Jon so as not to have to pay extra at the airport. I left behind a lamp, some soap, and some workout clothes, which I now regret, because I don't have any long pants except my khakis now.

The bus ride was fairly uneventful. I got to Chicago at 7:45, then rode the El for an hour to Ohare. Then the fun began: I arrived at 9:30, after the TSA had already shut down for the night, so I spent the night on a bench in front of the check-in counter, afraid to sleep for too long lest someone steal my stuff. A phone conversation with Jon helped pass some time, although it drained my phone battery for the rest of my trip, and then I wrote in my journal. After some fitful sleeping interrupted by a man speaking loudly on his phone in Swahili (or something!) for an hour, I played Solitaire on my iPod for about half an hour. I got some "real" snatches of sleep in 20 minute chunks between 1:30 and 3, when I finally gave up and ate breakfast (warm yogurt and an apple).

About 3:15 I made the acquaintance of a very nice, very typical Midwestern woman named Margaret, who offered to put some of my stuff in her carry-on so I wouldn't have to pay the $50 fee for my luggage being overweight (side note: how does this make sense? If I had a whole extra checked bag, the fee would be $20. But if my one bag is even 1 pound overweight, the fee is $50. Huh???). I managed to get my bag down to 49.5 pounds by wearing pants over my shorts and putting a few things in Maragret's bag.

I slept the whole plane ride from Chicago to New York (thank goodness for my new inflatable neck pillow!! That thing saved my life!), then took a bus to Grand Central, and finally caught a train to New Haven. I arrived safely at 1:00 PM, making my trip just shy of a full day.

Kerry and I spent the afternoon at her house. I took a much needed nap, and then we spent the afternoon and evening just talking and catching up. Tomorrow we'll have an "inside" day, since it's supposed to be hot, and will visit the Peabody museum, the Yale campus, and go work out at the swank, 10-floor Yale gym. Thursday we're planning on a trip to the beach!

Leaving home was really hard, and I had several moments in my long layover in the airport where I thought I was being a total idiot for leaving my comfortable and happy life in Iowa City, but I know this is going to be a great experience, and it's fantastic to see Kerry again after nearly a year of separation. I hope I'm able to update again before I leave on Friday morning for Middlebury!