Going to Magadan

(The Rotary Club in Magadan invited all of the district exchange students to come visit for Christmas. There are only ten of us from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and four are located in Magadan. Of the remaining six, two of us were able to make the trip. I flew from Vladivostok to Magadan on December 15 and stayed there until December 28.)

We had to wake up at 3:30 in the morning. It was still quite dark, and no one was awake enough to get any breakfast. I think I had a cookie, maybe. I had packed my bag the night before so there wasn't much to do. We shuffled through the fresh snow to the car and were on our way to the airport. Dad was driving, and I sat in the back, next to Maddy, my dear Australian friend who had decided to come to the airport with me as it was the last time we would see each other since she was going home in a couple of days. We cranked the iPod to our favorite songs, as the snow swirled around the car. 

We made it to the airport at 5:00. I was interested to see how grueling security would be, and how long I would have to wait in registration. Everything was relatively painless. For registration, they took my passport for a few seconds, threw my bag onto the conveyor belt, I was handed my ticket, and that was that. Security was even faster. I put my coat and belt into a tub, put my purse in another and there was no line whatsoever. 

The airport was small, just the one terminal with seven or eight gates. I found my gate (not that it was that hard) and waited to board. The flight was relatively full, which surprised me, because based on people's reactions to hearing I was going to Magadan, I expected there to be just myself and a few political prisoners on the flight. We had to wait a few minutes for the plane to be de-iced, then slowly coasted through the snow to the runway, which was also covered in snow, and under that was ice. The plane jerked from side to side as it roared down the runway, the bumpy ice grabbing the wheels. It was no smoother in the air, but the turbulence was gone in a few minutes. 

After a few hours' stop in a city called Habarovsk,  we landed in Magadan. We all got off the plane and boarded a bus that took us to a tiny airport building across the tarmac. There I was met by my Magadan host family, all four exchange students and three Rotary members! It was quite the welcoming committee. I was so excited to see the other kids. They walked through the door on the other side of the hall, and we all ran towards one another and collided into one big hug. It was so good to see them. 

I knew it was going to be a great trip.