The La la land journey begins.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 I said in my head as the plane neared the ground and we touched down in Los Angeles. October the 3rd had finally arrived, a d day I had been building up to for 18 months and instead of the fear and apprehension I thought I would be feeling all I could feel was excitement bubbling inside me as i realized (I think that might be the US spelling) THIS WAS IT, I was in Lala land for the foreseeable future!

I began to realize that Uggs and my thick Abercrombie hoodie my not have been the best choice of attire for the 28 degrees of LA but I was too excited to care, that was until we had to cue up to firstly get off the plane and secondly at customs or immigration. I'm hoping my anger at times like that will subside not being in London where everyone seems to be frustrated and rushing everywhere. Anyway having to wait around only made me hotter and then I had my neurotic dad talking me through the procedure at immigration. "So tell me what you have to say again" I felt like I could recite it in my sleep we had practiced it so many times on the 11 hour flight over, at any point when i was awake or in the middle of changing films he would pounce and make me go through it with him. "Im staying with a my cousin and going traveling with a friend in my gap year, I will be going home in December" Of course I had to mix it up a few times when I got bored, at one point I the conversation went. "Gaby tell me again what your going to say at immigration", "That I'm marrying my cousin and sleeping with my friend" or " I am going to be working here, yes without a visa, completely illegally and then on the way back I might just get a few of my mid east friends and we will blow up a plane" This didn't go down as well as I thought and I was greeted with a slight curl of the lip and then ordered to tell him what I would "really say".

It turned out when the man did question me before I could even take a breath to answer him my dad swooped in and did all the talking for me, making me feel that it was really time well spent on that plane. 

After we get our luggage Chace and Steve (Half of my New LA family, the other half consists of Ava and Elaine. Ava was at a friends and Elaine was in London interviewing Michael Caine) where there to pick us up from the airport. Chace had a ballon from Trader Joe's which i have heard all about and a banner, as she came running over to me and we hugged in front of everyone people clapped and I knew this was the first moment. The first moment when I could see for myself how much nicer and more friendly people in the US where. I'm sure I will see this almost all the time as where ever you go here instead of being greeted with a grunt or a little smile its " Have a nice day" or "How are you".  

Now it's 3.45 am and I'm awake, excellent! But first impressions of LA - as 'Annie' would say, "I think I'm gunna like it here"

Gaby.