We gathered at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport for our night flight scheduled to depart at 11:30pm. For these flights, everyone was required to weigh their carry-ons and personal items along with their check-in bags which was a surprise to many of us. We all waited at the gate and many of us hoped that our plane would be Hello Kitty themed like our boarding passes. Eva Airlines is known for having Hello Kitty themed flights on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays.

Once boarding started, we realized that the plane itself was not Hello Kitty themed, but the safety message, seats, blankets, slippers, and utensils all were. Students chose their seats on all flights in advance and ended up between rows 69 to 71 for the flight from Chicago to Taipei with the graduate students seating on A, B and C seats and the undergraduate students seating at seats G, H, J and K. After a long day, majority of students slept for several hours. The first meal that was offered to us was shrimp with rice.

The flight from Chicago to Taipei was around 14 hours long, and all students found different ways to pass the time. Primarily operating in Asia, Eva Airlines offers a section of both American and Asian movies and shows to watch. Eva Air also had a selection of games to play like Angry Birds, and it also offered a Wi-Fi plan that allowed some students to go on social media like Tic Tok. During this time, we were given our second meal which was Chinese Style Pork Dish with Fish Floss or a Western Style Chicken Sausage Breakfast.

Students passed the time on the flight by playing Nintendo switch games like Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario Bros. After a long flight, we arrived in Taipei at 6:00 am local time or 4:00pm Central Time. We all left the gate and gathered to make plans for how to spend the 2-hour layover in Taipei airport.

We learned that we would be using the same gate and plane for our flight to Kuala Lumpur, so we all decided to explore the airport. The airport was nice and contained many stores that stretched the entire terminal length. We kept our eyes open for some interesting areas to try new food or somewhere to relax and recharge before our next flight. There were several lounging areas, but they were all busy. A student favorite was the nature-themed lounging area.

Some students bought food while others relaxed at the gate. Everyone came back to board our last flight which was 5 hours long. Whlie on the plane, we were able to see that a nearby plane was one of the Hello Kitty themed airplane’s that many students hoped to experience.

After we landed in Kuala Lumpur, a handful of students experienced severe luggage delays. Finally all collected, we met our tour guild Krishna before boarding the bus. We all relaxed on the bus ride to the hotel thinking about the new adventure that awaits us.

Blog by Luis Vasconez