Day T-1; Arrival

In NYC it's nearly 4am. It's just about noon here and starting to get hot. I arrived at just before 8am, between losing 8 hours, the 12-hour flight, and the fitful bursts of sleep I've had in the last 36 hours, I was staring rather bleary-eyed at the customs officer who checked me in.

I was met by the Deputy Stage Manager who shepherded me into a taxi and pointed out landmarks as we wove through expressways and crisscrossed the city. It's still hazy and humid so the Burj Khalifa floated in and out of focus as we drove by. There is so much construction, it feels almost as though it's a city in progress. He pointed out Global Village on our left on the expressway, this gigantic park will be my second home for the next six months. I can see pyramids under construction for the Egypt pavilion, the onion-shaped domes must be the Russian pavilion, and other iconic architectural/cultural pieces jump out at me before it fades back into the haze and we keep going.

After 4 years in NYC, I felt like very much the city girl, but with the amount of growth, expansion, and skyscrapers that put my empire state building to shame, I feel more like the country bumpkin from small-town Connecticut that I thought I outgrew years ago.

My hotel apartment is located in a cluster of buildings. I'm again grateful for the DSM as he directs the taxi driver through small driveways around buildings where suddenly, we're here. Everything feels like a pop out book. Suddenly this! Suddenly that!

My new home is elegant and more than I expected. I'm curled up on a chair in my large master room as I type this. I keep one eye on the door, my roommate is due to arrive soon. We'll share a kitchen and living room for the next 6 months. Our shared space alone is larger than the NYC apartment I left behind.

The real adventure begins tomorrow, bright at early, with orientation, rehearsals, and diving head on in before tech begins in a few days. I have today to recover from the jet lag, get organized, and be ready to take on the world.

Here's goes nothing.

xo