Just Arrived

This is my first time blogging so bear with me.

I got to the airport at roughly 1:00 p.m. for my 4:10 flight to Philadelphia. I was happy to have mom, Jacob, Katie and Scott with (oh and Marley made a special guest appearance). As we parked the car, flashing fire truck lights greeted us and we began to speculate about the man with a bomb in his underpants who was probably going to ruin my entire day. Luckily when we entered Lindbergh terminal there were only a handful of people and my bag check took only a minute. Of my allowed 50 pounds, I weighed in at 47 (pretty good if I say so myself). However, my victory in the weight department was short lived as I was told I had too many carry-ons and my ukulele would have to stay behind (sorry I wont be returning the virtuoso I expected). After a Houlihan's appetizer feast and some corny photos I said my good-byes and got in the line for US Airways. For the most part security was a breeze. No beeping, no searched bags and no pat-down. But once I was beyond the checkpoint, I could only wave one last good-bye to friends and family before I was on my own.

I literally had to take a deep breath and count to five.... Here we go!

With my big-boy shoes on I began to search MSP for gate E2 which I found in seconds. I took a seat in the empty waiting area and was considering going on an airport adventure when more and more people my age kept showing up. Like strangers at a movie theater, we all seemed to sit a few seats away from each other and waited for someone to break the silence. Small conversations began to pop up.

"Are you going to Toledo?"

"What's your major?"

"What year are you?"

"Home-stay or dorms?"

I hopped on with a conversation going on behind me that turned into a game of P&A and Egyptian Rat Screw. Meeting new people helped the time pass easier and before I knew it we were called to board. Here comes my one and only hurdle. Being one of the last people in line to board I was told that there wasn't enough room for my carry-on. As the flight attendant strapped my bag with yellow tags a "why me?" feeling set in. I made her promise me at least a dozen times that I would see my bag again as she hauled it away (I never seem to trust airline employees). It was when I sat down on our matchbox of a plane that I remembered how my, now out of sight, bag held a good portion of my money and all of the chargers to my various electronics. My anxiety was well cleared by my seat mate, Angie. After going through the preliminary questions I learned that she was from Eden Prairie and we knew some of the same people. Our conversation soon reached out to our neighbors as we all shared life stories and even had time to deal out some nicknames (mine is Coco Chastity). All of a sudden we were landing.

The layover in Philly was marked by the highlight of my day: the return of my beloved bag and then scarred by the ten mile walk to our connecting gate. I was happy to be greeted by my friend Lindsey and I learned my transit was going much smoother than hers. After a short time we boarded the plane and I found my seat. Here was how my plane was arranged

AB CDEF GH........ I was riding in seat D, or as I like to call it, bitch.

On the bright side, my row was filled with toledo-ers and I spent a good amount of time talking with a junior named Kina (from Kristina). We all played the get-to-know-you game until lights went out and our personal tv's on the back of each seat turned on. The movie selection was grim (I watched Juno) and I spent the next 5 or so hours trying to get a little sleep. After an eternity the lights came on and we all bonded over which body part hurt the most. There was a thick excitement in the air for everybody as we landed.

Customs was a breeze, as was baggage claim (although Lindsey had to wait a good 40 minutes for her bag to arrive). We left the airport and were greeted by Yuki who might be my new favorite person. Next came an hour long bus ride to Toledo and I have to say the countryside is comparable to driving through North Dakota in the fall. That was all a little misleading though because Toledo might be the prettiest city I've ever seen. It is, no joke, like something out of a fairy tale (pictures soon). I would, however, offer this warning: wheeled luggage and cobblestone streets do not mix.

Once inside the Fundación, which is a renovated 16th century convent, I received my room key and hauled my luggage up two flights of stairs to unpack. We were fed dinner which was for lack of a better word interesting, but I'm going to reserve judgement until we get through the whole week's menu. Later, we were given a tour of the Fund which I topped of with some me-time and a nap. The home-stay kids have all left to go meet their families and everyone else seems to be unpacking. It's kind of quiet.

Bottom line: I made it here, I'm safe, I like it, it's different, I'm having fun, I miss you, I can't wait for tomorrow!