“Shining, shimmering, splendid!”
Let me first go back for a moment. My first plane from Portland to Chicago I had an aisle seat so it was hard to nap, (luckily I had my glorious neck pillow!) but instead I read Sky Mall. Who knew I needed so much! Just think; “The Superior Comfort Bed Lounger”, “The Healthiest Deep Fryer”, “The World’s Largest Write on Map Mural”, “The Always Cool Pillow”, “Potty train your cat fast than most people potty train their kids!” (<- 3 steps in 18 weeks!), “Velociraptor, Jurassic-Sized Dinosaur Statue, 5 ft tall!” …oh the things I’ve been living with, un-healthy French fries, litter boxes and warm pillows. Actually, on a more serious note, I liked the idea of a home carbonator and syrup and using less bottles or cans.

Only $2,250!

“A new fantastic point of view”
Also on the plane I saw the movie, A Thousand Words. Basically, Jack (Eddie Murphy) has a curse that every word he uses = a leaf on the tree falling off. When all the trees fall, he dies. “Jack is forced to pick and choose his words, communicating with others becomes difficult and full of misunderstandings”. I could relate to this in more than one way. My dad used to joke that I had a word limit that I was constantly exceeding. If you know me, you’ve experienced that. I also knew that soon, I may be in situations where I have to rely on smiling and gesturing and more importantly, where listening and watching would become far more important to my learning.

“A dazzling place I never knew”
After a delay in Chicago (due to Thunder and lightning!) and the stress of knowing I’d miss my next connection I was on my way again. I sat next to a friendly young dad who had lived in Hungary for 3 years and traveled quite a bit. We chatted over a mysterious airplane pasta dinner. Finally The London Eye and Big Ben were in sight. I was rather giddy!

Upon landing at Heathrow I was faced with no cell phone use and a rebook to deal with. Luckily they speak English (except cooler)! However, between the various nationalities, heavy accents and mumbling it was still a challenge. I tested out using pounds and added a British rubber duck to my collection!

“Indescribable feeling”
Munich. Now the nerves really set in; in a foreign country, in the future, with swollen feet and an awful headache! I was reassured that basically everything was in German and English (however, the further from the airport the less that is true) and the bus transport guy was very nice. I waited for the van and noticed there was a Subway, playing Kesha’s “Blow”.

“Unbelievable sights…Don’t you dare close your eyes”
Oh but I had to. I was so so tired, my pillow and I had a nap on the van. I mean, at least sort of. The driver was, well, I don’t want to say reckless, but I was slightly uncomfortable. It worked out the sudden change of speed kept waking me at the interesting places!

One of the several pictures I attempted to take out my van window between naps on the way from Munich to Salzburg.

“A hundred thousand things to see”
Salzburg is beautiful! I took pictures from the van (and later got to explore a bit on foot). It was interesting how some places look just like another U.S. city/state and others are old, grand, beautiful bits of history. I was countering my nerves with the thrill of the city. When I was dropped off I had no clue where to go. I stood there just kind of looking around. Not exactly the movie-esque drop-the-bags-and-spin-in-excitement I’d imagined. The director of the dance program saw me from the window and yelled my name “Im-el-ee! Im-el-eeee!”. She smiled kindly and said someone was coming down to help me. Relief won out over threatening tears. Everyone was so nice!

The view from town!

In short some struggles, surprises and satisfactions include: Urinals across from regular toilets and clear shower doors in the water closet. Not understanding how to use the sheet they provided. People smoking indoors next to my room. Being verbally instructed how to get to the mall…alone. Ordering dinner. Remembering that a coin can be up to 2 euro. Euros are not dollars. Light switches and outlets. Huge, heavy windows with no screens. Free gelato 🙂

The not confusing light switch and an outlet without my converter.

Eventually, my brave face faltered when my adventurous attitude got tired. I accomplished things today/yesterday that I never thought I could do alone. And now the hours of travel have all become a blur! The first real night was hard, but I know it will keep getting easier.

My spot (which looks a bit different now) and my new rubber duck up on the shelf!

“Hold your breath – it gets better”
Day 1 included a continental breakfast and new friends. I went to the mall and walking around town with a girl from Israel who now lives in Atlanta and a girl from Brazil. Buying products is much harder than food. None of us speak German! My nerves are up and down but I’m excited for the welcome party tonight and to meet my roommates!

“I’m like a shooting star, I’ve come so far, I can’t go back to where I used to be….” I’m not in Kansas anymore, but that’s ok, Salzburg has better weather.

Cheers!
Emily A.