We gathered in the main lobby of the hotel at 7:15 am for our morning flight from Kuala Lumpur to Penang. This early flight had the majority of the group exhausted since we didn’t get much rest from the night before. Many of us were doing some last-minute packing and weighing, while others were ready to go and met up for breakfast early in the morning. On our way to the airport, we thanked Krishna for all his help and guidance during our time in Kuala Lumpur. The bus also consisted of funny moments being brought up about what we had done and experienced the night before. Once we arrived at the airport, we did a group check-in which made it convenient for those who were above the weight limit on their check-in bags. After everyone checked in. We said our last goodbyes to Krishna and took one last photo with him. He also had great recommendations of what to do in Penang. We then proceeded to go through security. Shortly after, we made it to our gate, and we had around fifty minutes to buy food, coffee, or any snacks.

Many students decided to eat Burger King at nine in the morning because we were scheduled to go on a site visit immediately after we landed. There were limited food options near our gate, which led the students to choose choose a cafe, Burger King, or Dunkin Donuts.

As we patiently waited to board the plane at 10:20 am, many of us were relaxing in the boarding area until our boarding number was called. While we were in line, one student called out that a carry-on was left where we were seated. I immediately turned around and realized that it was my carry-on. Thankfully they brought it over to me and saved me from having no more shoes for the rest of the trip. Once we boarded the Malaysia Airways plane, we realized that we were seated at the very back of the plane and the seats had no legroom. They were very tight and made it hard to move or put our bags under our seats.

Luckily this flight only had a duration of thirty-five minutes. Many students slept during the flight, while others watched shows, played games, or conversed with one another. The plane did not have any screens or WiFi since it was very small. On the bright side, the flight crew provided us with a quick snack, which consisted of a water and salted peanuts.

After we landed in Penang at around 12:00 PM. we met up with our tour guide, Rodney. He spoke to us about Penang and its importance. He talked about what they have and how the people are in their city. He also informed us about their living conditions and the apartments low-income individuals stay in. We all relaxed until we got to the hotel. The drive from the airport to the hotel was 30 minutes. Shortly after we checked into our rooms, we met up in our PPE gear and left for our first site visit of the day in Penang.

Blog by Yami Perez-Ruiz