<--(Sunrise over Brussels) Saturday, May 16th
22 10 (USA time) and 4 10 (GERMANY time)... What day is it?! I know that it'll be roughly 5 45 when I land in Frankfurt, but in my head its only about 10 30 pm. An hour ago the stewardesses walked by with coffee and breakfast (yogurt by the way, apparently they knew my preferences!), proclaiming "good morning". Its only 9pm, lady, what is going on?! This may be a long day!
5 30...I'm getting ready to land and experience a whole new country! I'm excited to feel what its like to have everyone around me speaking a non-English language. By the way, coffee is a lifesaver and just may become my best friend today. <--(Sunrise over Brussels)
22 10 (USA time) and 4 10 (GERMANY time)... What day is it?! I know that it'll be roughly 5 45 when I land in Frankfurt, but in my head its only about 10 30 pm. An hour ago the stewardesses walked by with coffee and breakfast (yogurt by the way, apparently they knew my preferences!), proclaiming "good morning". Its only 9pm, lady, what is going on?! This may be a long day!
5 30...I'm getting ready to land and experience a whole new country! I'm excited to feel what its like to have everyone around me speaking a non-English language. By the way, coffee is a lifesaver and just may become my best friend today. <--(Sunrise over Brussels)
19 01...What have I gotten myself into? So...I get off my plane in Helsinki, anxiously awaiting the arrival of my luggage at Baggage Claim. Discreetly, I am crossing my fingers (on both hands of course, for extra good luck), hoping and praying that I catch a glimpse of my little red bag. Time goes by and people are slowly beginning to clear away as they grab their luggage and exclaim "Moi, Moi!" (translation...bye bye!). The crowd slowly clears out, the conveyor belt comes to a stop, and then there was one. Yes, that is me. The only redheaded Kansan on that flight, and probably the only 24-year old solo female traveler - with no bag to claim. So I walk over to the help desk and thankfully was greeted by a very friendly lady who assured me they would find my luggage, and sent me away with a complementary female overnight bag, complete with an XL white t shirt, shampoo, and single use laundry detergent. Then I proceed to find the bus station and the worker behind the desk had very little patience for this outsider. I tried to keep from being discouraged, and found my bus. This could have been a dreary situation, when a girl about my age approached me and asked me if I needed help when we got off the bus. She is from Germany but is living in Jyväskylä. She gave me her phone number and email so that we may meet for coffee during my stay. Her kindness gave me so much comfort! So now, I am sitting at the Travel Center, waiting on my friend to pick me up, hoping that we made the right arrangements. Life without a cell phone in a completely unfamiliar location is certainly not easy! How did people travel by themselves without it before? With all that said, tomorrow is a brand new day and I am looking forward to the adventure. I know that I thrive off of challenges, and I may be able to say that this is the beginning of the greatest challenge yet! OH, one other thing I would like to add, this country is expensive! I paid 1 £ to use the bathroom today! Honestly!
I should have told you before you left that you will often have to pay to use the bathroom. :) Hope you're having a blast! :) Sorry to hear about your luggage. But I'm confident that it will be found! :)
ReplyDeleteTiffany P.
You knew about the expensive potty breaks? It seemed ridiculous at first, but I learned the reason. Apparently it is to keep drug/alcohol abusers from the location. And the lighting inside is dimmed in a way so that people can't find their veins...true story! Learned that from a local. So in that case...I'll just learn to hold it, or drink less fluids :)
ReplyDeleteIt was found! Quickly too! Thank goodness...I was feeling a bit lonely without my stuff! Thanks for reading!