wow.  we made it.  from arrival at LAX to our hotel room -- almost 30hours.  by far the longest single travel time yet by far. 

the communication is hit and miss, the food so far is great, the people mostly friendly, and our hotel is perfect.  we are staying outside of the city about 5kilometers, and there is hardly a sound in the air besides the ocean waves and the birds.  beautiful.  the city, all 20 minutes of what i have seen, is total sensory overload.  the streets are filled with signs, cars, and people, and yet through the madness of the crowds, people actually don't seem to be in such a hurry.  so far, so good, and as we recover from the traveling, the journey will take on a whole new form i'm sure.  we have to do many things, but today is very simple.  eat food.  find internet.  check and check.