Leaving to go halfway around the world

The first thing I noticed about JFK just by virtue of walking around is how big it is. The number of terminals goes up to 7, but I can only compare there are at least 4 (1, 4, 5, 7). 

My flight from Buffalo landed in Terminal 5, which I quickly learned from the abundance of JetBlue information boards -- and the complete dearth of any others -- was that this was strictly a domestic terminal. Abu Dhabi is most definitely *not* a domestic landing site in New York, so I had to hunt down a different terminal. 

Luckily, I have absolutely no qualms whatsoever about asking someone so I did just that, and she -- despite the shadow that crossed her face when she saw my knee brace -- told me both options: I could go outside, turn left, walk past the taxi stand and keep walking even though it doesn't look like there's a sidewalk (6-7 minutes, she said, and it's a nice day), or I could go on the train inside and have it take 25 minutes. 

Since the point of this trip is a LOT of walking, I opted for the former. And really, it was a pretty decent morning after all. A bit nippy, but I felt like I saw a tiny slice of New York from the double line of yellow cabs outside. 

And silly me -- I thought I was done with the heavy walking. Oh no no no no no! Once inside Terminal 4, and once I got past all the fancy airlines not normally seen at Pearson (El Al, Emirates, South African) and once past the snaky security line (no taking off your shoes or belt at JFK -- nice!), it was off to the lounge for some lupper and Lost. And, oh yeah, one of the horizontal escalators was out of commission, so the gate change from A3 to B31 was even *more* walking. 

I dare not change the time on my phone in case I somehow accidentally missed the next boarding call, so even though it's supposed to be 8h ahead right now, the sun's streaming in through the airplane windows and I feel a bit like Alice after she's just fallen down the hole. What time is it? Where am I? And where am I going to?