Travelling

(Actual date: August 16-17)




I travelled with Melissa and Ryan, a couple that is also going to be living in Bratislava this year. Mel will teach with me at the high school and her husband will find a volunteer position somewhere in town. We began our day by meeting at the designated spot at 3:20 am on Monday morning. We got all our luggage loaded and were off to the airport. Because we were flying internationally, it took us a long time to check in. Then we had to wait in a really long line to get through security. (at this point, I was really missing DFW…my favorite airport for security checks) Finally, we were all through the security point and went to find our gate.

We did not have enough time to do anything except go to the restroom…so this is where I made my biggest mistake. I did not eat breakfast, and I know that I feel yucky if I don’t eat enough before I fly. We had a 3 hour flight to Chicago first. By the time we got there, my tummy was a little off kilter, but I figured if I ate a good lunch it would be better. We had a quick meal at McDonald’s (because it was right in front of us when walked off the first plane and directly next to the gate for our second flight.) We had about an hour to eat and I needed to rearrange some of my carry-on luggage and then we were off on the 7 hour international flight to Frankfurt.

I tried desperately to sleep on this flight, but I’ve never been much of a sleeper when travelling. (note to self: bring drugs next time.) I can’t get comfortable enough and I had an aisle seat, so I was subconsciously worried about getting whacked with the carts. I was pretty impressed that I only had to get up once, until I realized that my ankles were swelling to the size of grapefruits. Since this was my first international flight, I did not realize that you should get up every hour so that you don’t get cankles…so please learn from my experience and get up often. By the end of this flight I was feeling pretty queasy, but we had a 3 hour layover and I thought some solid ground would be nice.

We had entered the Schoengen (sp?) zone, where you have to have your stuff checked by customs. They were nice, but went through my entire carry-on suitcase. So then it wouldn’t zip too well (it was pretty tightly packed!) We found a place to set up camp for a couple of hours in Frankfurt. Then I realized that all I had with me were American Dollars…no good in Frankfurt. And we couldn’t find the currency exchange place, or it just wasn’t open that early (6:00am), so Mel got me a little croissant. I thought I was feeling pretty good. Then we found our next gate and scanned our own boarding passes and went down the stairs (carrying all our stuff) to the bus….yes, bus. We rode around on this very crowded bus for ten minutes or more all around the airport, between planes and all. I think we ended up all the way at the very edge of the airport before we saw our plane. Then we had to lug our stuff up the stairs to the plane doors. I found my seat and got all settled. I was in the window seat, the middle seat was empty, and a nice man was on the end. At this point I was extremely exhausted and really wanted to sleep. I got my pillow out and laid my head on the window. We took off, it was really turbulent, and I was up to go to the bathroom. As soon as I sat down again, I needed the barf bag, but I didn’t make it in the bag. There is nothing like having travelled for 24 hours, not slept, then throwing up all over yourself in a place you can’t escape, and no one speaks English. The flight attendants were very nice, but clearly not happy I had made a mess. I got to the bathroom (the man next to me moved to a new seat, poor guy) and cleaned up as best as possible in a plane bathroom. I felt pretty good for about 20 minutes, then we were getting to land, and I used the bag in the seat next to mine. This time I had better aim. I just waited til everyone else had left the plane before getting off and then had to change my pants in the airport before meeting Daniel who is the manager of the school where I will be teaching.

We were somewhat worried when we walked out to the parking lot and he only had a small sedan. But we managed to get everything in. I wish we had taken a picture of this because it was pretty funny. We had all 6 big suitcases and one little one in the trunk…it looked like a low rider at this point, before we even got in the car. There were two duffels and my carry-on suitcase in the back seat behind the driver. I had to ride in the front with a backpack under my feet and with my laptop in my lap. Mel and Ryan squeezed in to the rest of the back seat and had to hold the trunk cover (like for SUVs in the US, but everyone has one here) in front of them, so they couldn’t see at all. I made it to the Novy Most (New Bridge) and had to have Daniel pull over so I could barf again at a bus stop. We were only about 5 minutes from Mel & Ryan’s flat. What a way to impress your “big” boss.

Melissa and Ryan have a flat in Old Town, which is the really cute (and old) part of town. But there is no elevator and they are on the 3rd floor (which is actually the 4th, counting the American way). So we carried all of their things up and had a short meeting with another lady and met the girl who will be walking us through the visa process. Then they brought me to my flat in Petrazalka – the part of town where the communists had built a ton of apartment buildings all in concrete. However, there has been a lot of renovating lately, and they used bright colors to paint over the grey. Our building is yellow and white, but is a little older than others, so it’s kind of dingy, but clean and renovated on the inside. I live on the 10th floor and am very grateful for the elevators. I have my own bedroom, and will hopefully post a video tour within the next couple of weeks. It’s pretty plain right now, but I’m slowly collecting things (of color, the entire flat is white) and finding a place for them.

I tried very hard to not take a nap, but a little one was necessary. I felt much better after an hour nap and set to work unpacking my clothes. Jenni and Katie came over to take me to the grocery store and dinner. We went to a Slovak pizza place they really like. It was very good and I was incredibly grateful for their help and companionship that night. About 15 minutes after I got home, Ashley arrived as well. We chatted for about an hour and I went to bed.

And that was my last day in America and my first day in Slovakia.