Are we above the clouds yet?

I finally arrived in LAX three hours after my scheduled time. There are a lot of firsts that I experienced. i.e. first time flying, first time going to a far away state, first time eating airplane food and finding my own way around. The experience on the plane was both expected and unexpected. The neighbors on both of my flights were not as friendly as I anticipated. Nice. But not a “single serving” friend.
It seemed like it took a long time to take off in the first place, since the crew had to clean the snow off the plane. But once we took off I could feel us lifting, and I, the oddball out, gaped out the window; probably the only person there doing so. I looked down at the little lives, the tiny lights blurred together in a swirl partly because of my bad vision and partly because of the snow. Then all went white, and I wondered when we were going to get above the clouds because it seemed like we were there for a long time. Taking off a lot I felt myself reclining, which was when I realized that I hadn’t been to bed all night as it was 6 in the morning and that I was going away for four months and I was leaving everyone behind and my life was about to change forever.
That’s enough of me being dramatic. Anyway, my flight got delayed in Atlanta. So I was stuck there for three hours. I thought I was never going to get off the plane. So when I arrived in LAX, I didn’t actually believe I was in LA, just watching a preview for it. I caught a shuttle which dropped me of at the gate of Park La Brea, so I wondered around for a little while until someone directed me to where I was supposed to be.
Somehow, this third day passed by and I’ve been trying to understand what is happening. From my understanding, this is what’s been happening: orientation, dinner, breakfast, worship, orientation, shopping, orientation, bed, class, introduction, introduction, introduction. “This is life in LA! This is life in LA! This is life in LA!”
A lot of these introductory speeches have been about how to thrive in LA. “Stay here for at least five years, meet people, keep trying though you’ll fall several times” All that jazz (And if I were less tired, I would write more about it.)
And since I’m still trying to get used to Western time and need sleep, I will leave you with this: the palm trees are really tall, the weather is like spring time for us, I can see the Hollywood sign from my bedroom window, and I haven’t a clue where I’m going.