Flight and Arrival in EUROPE!

I was freaking out a bit on the drive to the Detroit airport.  This was a new experience and I was excited but not sure what to expect, that and I have mild anxiety so being about to leave the country for 40 days gives an unsettling feeling.  I met Sarah at the airport, said goodbye to my parents and boyfriend, Joe, and after I printed my boarding passes got in line for security.  This was the third time I had flown in15 months so I knew what to expect and since it was a weekday morning the lines weren’t too bad.  Going through the scanner thing an area around my boob came up yellow so a TSA officer explained that she would have to use her hands to inspect the air and that I could choice to go into a private room if I liked; I really didn’t care so I said there was fine.  Right before she was about to start she stopped and asked how old I was.  Apparently when I’m wearing glasses and have on little make up I look younger than 18.  I guess I’ll take that as a compliment. 

We then flew from Detroit to La Gaurdia airport in New York.  The plane was small, only 3 seats and an aisle across, and the lady sitting next to me had a 4ish month old child sitting on her lap.  Luckily the baby was pretty good and also very cute so even though he woke up when I was about to fall asleep (and therefore I was too distracted to fall back asleep) he didn’t fuss very much and only started crying briefly a few times.  After that flight we took a shuttle to JFK airport and then waited for 5 hours til we could board our plane to Zurich. 

Surprisingly I was not very anxious while waiting to get on the plane and only started to get anxious once we had boarded.  Naturally as I started to freak out the pilot announced we would be another 45 minutes or so.  Every time we moved and the engine roared my heart-rate skyrocketed.  It didn’t help that the monitors on the plane displayed how far we were going (4034 miles) and the arrival time which kept getting moved back.  It also showed the local time in New York and in Zurich.  I had already set my watch for the time change so I checked it every single time the time was displayed.  Once we took off my anxiety eased and all I wanted to do was sleep.

This flight had people from all walks of life.  For example, the guy sitting next to me had on white skinny jeans, a yellow shirt with pink flowers, and a bleached denim jacket; to top it off he had a really thin mustache.  Oh well, he seemed nice enough for the whole 5 words I probably spoke to him.  I got to experience airline dinner and breakfast as well on the flight; definitely not good but not terrible.  The worst part was that all the distributing of food kept interrupting my attempts at a nap.  I also experience turbulence for the first time on a flight.  I always thought the slight bumpiness you occasionally felt was turbulence.  Wrong.  Turbulence is half the tea of the guy sitting next to me splashing out of the cup and flight attendants being asked to take their seats.  Other than that it was an uneventful flight.  I slept from the sun setting below the clouds to the sun rising above the clouds.  Unfortunately when you are flying East that’s only about 3 hours. 

Getting through customs in Switzerland was easier than getting into Canada (and also easier than finding your way through the Zurich airport).  I told them I was studying abroad for 5 and a half weeks and they scanned and stamped my passport.  Being in Zurich we wanted to see more than just the airport so after collecting our luggage, finding the lockers to store it, activating our railpass, etc. we took a train to the main Zurich station.  This was my first time on a train and it really wasn’t bad at all (so one less thing I have to worry about).  We only spent about 2 hours walking around Zurich but we were exhausted from having slept 8 hours or less over what was supposed to be a 2 day time frame.  Getting a 47 pound suitcase onto a train was interesting on the way to Bregenz but we managed ok and made it to Bregenz without any further issues. 

Did you know there was a river in Zurich?  I didn't.  Shows you how much I looked at a map before I came.  

We had seen one of our professors on the train so we knew we could look for him at the Bregenz station and some mysterious guy named Willi that coordinated the homestays and those aspects of the trip.  We were told we would recognize him by his clothes and handlebar mustache and upon getting off the train we saw our professor standing next to a tall guy with a yellow suit, mohair tie, and handlebar mustache.  Willi.  Willi was also with the dad of our host family and their 2 small girls.  I’ll write more on the homestay later. 

After a 3-4 hour nap (which could have been 12 hours for how hard I slept) we went down to the Harbor (of Lake Constance) for the local harborfest.  We had dinner and beer with most of the other MSU students there so all was good. 

Today (which will be yesterday when I get a chance to post this) we had a 2 hour Orientation with our professors and then a 3 hour German lesson.  I still know next to none; maybe 3 more hours tomorrow will help (but probably not, especially since that is our last lesson).  It has been cold (sub 60’s) and raining all day and I do not do well with wet feet so after getting dinner at harborfest a few of us walked around for a bit but I went back earlyish.  I had had enough of rain but apparently everyone else hasn’t, the other 3 MSU girls at our homestay are still out even though it is downpouring.  I will join them on some other night when it isn’t quite so cold and wet and when I feel like drinking a beer.  Instead I spent time putting pictures on my computer and writing this ridiculously long blog post which I will post tomorrow when I have internet.  Even though this post is long I still have a lot of experiences to share.  They will have to wait for another time as I should sleep.  For now…Gute Nacht. 

Packingx2

First off, I leave for Europe tomorrow!!!

This of course means that I finished my packing today, especially since I have to get up early tomorrow.  My flight leaves at 10:20 meaning I should be at the airport around 8:15 meaning I have to leave my house in Frankenmuth around 6 AM.  That is early for a college kid but I'll be able to sleep on the drive to the airport and on the planes.

So back to the whole packing thing.  I consider my self and expert over-packer.  I have traveled enough I know what I need and then normally throw in a few extra of everything just in case.  This mentality obviously wouldn't work for a 40 day trip in one suitcase.  I normally make lists for packing; I even have a notebook of packing lists for trips since the summer of 2006.  This list was on my computer and one of the larger lists I've made.  Not only is it a long trip but I can't rely on my parents to have items such as nail-clippers and other small items I never pack because someone else does.  I also had to figure out what I needed to buy before the trip.  (The answer: A LOT!)

After the lists were made it came time to start getting stuff together.  This was made slightly more complicated because I was packing at my parents' house where some of my stuff was but also had lots at my apartment at school that needed to be packed.  I came home every weekend over the summer to work though so it wasn't a big problem, just required some planning.  As stuff came home, I started laying everything out on my bedroom floor to see what I had to fit into a suitcase.

These were the results:

Not too bad; Right?

Wrong.  Here is the other side of the bed.

This suitcase looked smaller than I remembered.

 Throughout this process I was contemplating how long it would take me to pack.  Joe assured me that packing only takes about 2 hours; I told him it took me 45 minutes to decide which shoes to bring, packing was not going to take 2 hours.

In the end I got everything I wanted to in the suitcase.  There is an option to expand it which I will plan on doing on the way home to get souvenirs back.  I also can throw out the towels if needed.  Now I just need to see if I can get everything I want in my carry-on to fit...

It closes and everything!

The part that makes this post about packingx2 is packing up at my apartment at school.  My lease expires a week after I get back so in the process of bringing stuff home every weekend I also brought home items that were no longer needed at my apartment.  The result is a bedroom at home full of stuff and a very bare bedroom at my apartment.  

My now boring bedroom wall.

Now that packing for Europe is done (or at least just about done) I get to spend the rest of the night with my parents and boyfriend before I leave.  Hopefully I'll be able to sleep tonight.  Tomorrow starts an adventure.

Getting Started

In 5 days I leave for a Study Abroad trip to Europe so I decided it would be a good time to start a blog to share my experiences with whoever wants to read them.

I have wanted to participate in a study abroad program since I was in high school.  After looking at many different programs during my freshman year I found one that was during the summer and included an IAH class that was required for my major.  The trip is titled "Music, Art and Language in Bregenz" and is based out of Bregenz, Austria with planned weekend trips to Vienna and Munich.  In October I visited the table for the trip I was looking at and after talking to one of the professors for 5 minutes was satisfied that it was in fact the trip I wanted to go on.  I applied a few days after and was accepted into the program within a few weeks after that.  Then the waiting game started until I knew more about the trip to start planning.

At the beginning of the new semester we started receiving emails from the professors on the trip and had a facebook group set up.  I knew no one that was on the trip but wanted to find someone to travel to Paris with me either before or after the trip.  Through the facebook group I found someone else who wanted to travel while we were in Europe.  We decided that traveling after the trip would be easier because we would be familiar with trains and such after the trip; we also decided to go to Paris, Belgium, and London.  With places to go and plane tickets booked we were on our way to get the journey started.

Figuring out trains to where we wanted to go proved more challenging than you would think.  It turns out Bregenz is a relatively small city so there are not a lot of trains going to and from there in the direction we needed to go.  I didn't feel like switching trains 4+ times and traveling for 13 hours was worth it to go to different places so combing through the time tables was necessary to find a train with the most direct route.  The main reason I wanted to go to Belgium was because my dad lived there for 18 months before my parents go married.  My parents told me of their favorite small town in Belgium so I also had to look into local trains, and figure out how to look into local trains, to plan that leg of the journey.  In the end only a few mild panic attacks ensued from figuring out trains and most were more related to the fact that I have never been on a train before and have no clue what to expect but since they are the only way to efficiently get all over Europe I'm sure I"ll learn quickly.  

After figuring out when we would be where based on the train schedule the rest was relatively easy (or at least significantly easier).  We will sight see and do touristy stuff and other than that don't have much of a plan.  We have places to stay so that's all that's really needed.  We also have a free weekend during our trip where are group of us are going to Salzburg and Venice, luckily someone else took the lead on that so I was spared additional panic attacks.  

If all goes as planned (and I have no reason to foresee that it won't) then we will be going to 7 countries in 40 days.  That probably means I won't end up sleeping all that much but that's ok; this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that so many people are not able to experience.  I'm going to make the most of it.