June 6, 2016.

After saying goodbye to my parents, I sat down in the plane and waited tensely for takeoff. I had never flown before, and my brain couldn't imagine how such a heavy machine would lift into the air.

When the plane started to take off, it shook so hard that I thought it was about to fall apart. Images of news reports about plane crashes with many victims flashed through my mind. I thought about how I should have written a will. Fortunately, after a minute, the shaking stopped, and I managed to gradually relax.

Head in the clouds

We flew with a layover for about 19 hours. Despite the long flight, I didn't want to sleep. The views from the window were mesmerizing, and for the first few hours, I just stared at the clouds and thought about everything.

After a while, I tore myself away from the window and paid attention to my surroundings. The thought flashed through my head: "So... While my classmates are sitting in lectures and taking exams, I am here. On a plane, high above the clouds, surrounded by people flying to relatives, or to work, and some of them are surely traveling. Soon I will learn, see, and feel so many new things. I will end up in places I've only seen in movies. Do they really exist? Am I definitely not dreaming?"

I spent all 19 hours like this

Despite the fact that you sit in one place on a plane, I definitely wasn't bored. I admired the views, watched movies in English (trying to tune into English speech), tried strange food, and chatted with my seatmate.

And then, the captain's voice rang out, announcing that we would soon arrive in New York. I looked out the window. Land!

Beginning

My heart pounded in anticipation of the upcoming exit from the plane. Ahead of us awaited a huge city with its own peculiarities, unusual for our way of life.