on monday morning, i woke up at 6:00 a.m and hurried to pack up and leave for the minneapolis airport. along the way, i had a really nice breakfast with eva... as well as yet another really hard goodbye. once we made it to the airport, it hit me that i was actually leaving (good timing, right?). so after checking in, my parents left with the wilson-family-classic "band-aid" goodbye. in other words, they said a very quick goodbye and dashed out of the airport. i stood in security balling like a fool. my first flight was to chicago. there, i had to re-check in with LOT Airlines, a Polish airline. i was so entertained standing in line. there was a group of polish exchange students who had just been in texas, and had the hats and boots to prove it. also, there was a beautiful white dog whose owners were constantly cleaning his face. not to mention, of course, suddenly being thrown into a group of central europeans... i knew my adventure had begun.
my flight left chicago at 5:30. the flight was about ten hours, and thanks to a few sleeping pills i was able to sleep a little... but not enough to satisfy the effects of the pills. when we landed in warsaw, i was sore, stiff and TIRED. but i knew i couldn't sleep yet, because i had to catch another flight to bratislava. when i arrived in bratislava (at a surprisingly small airport), i was picked up by a famous slovakian singer! she is the daughter of the woman who i work with, and she was able to pick me up and drive me to the train station. she helped me get a ticket, carry my ridiculously heavy bags, and rush onto the train which was departing in ten minutes. she was really helpful and really nice.
once i made it onto the train, i had to sit for yet ANOTHER six hours. i got on the train at 2:00 slovakian time, which translates to 7:00 a.m. tuesday morning... marking a full 24 hours of travel. the train ride, however, was gorgeous. there were mountains and rivers and cute villages and lakes... simply beautiful. by the time i arrived in kosice, i'd been traveling for 30 hours. nela, the woman who i work with, picked me up and took me to my apartment which is in the historical center of kosice. i was met by my landlords and their two kids, and was greeted by food and wine... which all tasted wonderful after such a long day. then we went up to my apartment to drop off my bags. i am SO pleased with this apartment. it is recently renovated, it has everything i need, and it has an amazing view. i love it. after seeing the apartment, nela and i went down to have tea at a tea shop in my building, and we discussed the details of my placement. i'm actually really confused about what i'm going to be doing, but i'm sure it will sort itself out in the next few weeks.
whew, i think that's it. i'm having a difficult time writing, which i think is an indication my brain hasn't had enough rest. i apologize if that was all incoherent in any way.
i will write more later... but i hope this suffices as a quick update for now.
anna
No comments:
Post a Comment