A Semester of Adventure: Entry One

Within these posts lie the adventures and thoughts of a traveler. One who wished to see the wonders first hand and experience them for what they are.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”- Lao-tzu

January 25, 2016

Today I left for my adventure. My parents drove me to JFK’s International Departure terminal and stood right behind me during check-in, afraid I could vanish before their eyes, as I checked my two large bags and got my boarding pass. They walked me to the JFK security check-point and I was ready to go, a smile on my face.I had been waiting to board this flight for weeks. My friends were all at school or already abroad, the wait had been mind numbing. However, my parents were already counting the days till my return I could tell as my mom’s embrace brought tears to her eyes and tightened my chest, my resolve momentarily dissipating, regret forming in my mind. What was I thinking I could do this? I should have just stayed home and done my semester with all of my friends rather than strangers. Jeez. As we let go of each other I gave them a reassured smile and got online for security check.

I sat at my gate for Turkish Air, where I would depart for Istanbul before connecting to a flight into Prague. I will never understand why people form a line before boarding call even begins, I mean, come on, we have assigned seats and we’re about to be on a plane for 9+ hours. Why would you want to be on the plane any longer than you have to?

On Turkish Air I was mistaken for a Turkish national twice. I guess that’s what you get by looking like everyone else (Brown hair/eyes). Before I boarded I got a Facebook message from Katarina, my Czech buddy*. Her english seems really good so that’s always a momentary relief. I had been waiting to hear from her for a week or so, it was nice to finally hear from her.

One of the first things we were served was a cube covered in powdered sugar. I was intrigued but also a little nervous that a fruity taste would envelop my mouth (I don’t like berries) I was pleasantly surprised. It was delicious and it only seemed to get better as I chewed. I’m pretty sure it was a Turkish delight. Of course the flight attendant probably had told me but she had said it in Turkish. But I can attest that Turkish delights are truly delightful.

The food on the flight was also really good even for airplane food. Unfortunately my happy stomach did not let me sleep peacefully as I couldn’t get myself to sleep for more than an hour at a time. On top of that the guy in front of me had decided to recline his chair for the whole flight so my knees were throbbing by the time we landed.

It was about 5 am local time when we got in, so we were a bit late. It didn’t bother me though since it just meant I only had to sit in the transfer terminal for 2 hours instead of 3. We had to get on a bus to get to the terminal and everyone was pissed because they were missing their connections. But this one old man was especially pissed. He kept getting on and off the bus to yell at the airport guys. I personally though it was hilarious but everyone else was PISSED. Some Americans got some Turks on board to yell at him to suck it up and get on the bus because he was going to make everyone late et cetera. But after 3 times of boarding the bus he finally stayed on and we went to the terminal.

The terminal was very simple with metal chairs/benches in front of gates that led to buses that would shuttle you to the plane. It kind of  reminded me of a brighter Port Authority. I had to wait in front of the screens for a while to figure out my gate since it hadn’t been assigned yet. While I was waiting this lovely old man sat next to me and asked me for help locating his flight to Athens. After a few minutes of looking (we were both exhausted) I located it and we parted ways as content strangers.(Cool story bro, tell it again)

Unfortunately I couldn’t connect to any kind of Free Wifi in the Istanbul airport which was a real annoyance since I had told my parents I would contact them when I landed. I ended up turning on my data and praying for forgiveness as I sent my dad a message through WhatsApp.

-January 26, 2015

I arrived safely at Prague’s airport doing silent prayers at the bag carousel as I waited for them to come out, ecstatic to see them when they did. I was greeted by some Czech buddies* who gave me a candy bar and escorted me to the other terminal where the rest of the students were. It was there that I finally met Katarinan and Kačka. I talked about my plans to go skiing while I was abroad with Kačka but Katarina was disinterested so she went to talk with others. I felt bad. Hopefully we get to talk more later.

My cab arrived and I rode with another girl who was also a Penn Stater. We arrived at my homestay first so we parted (and never saw each other the rest of the trip not kidding lol). I was greeted by Jirka. He was very hospitable but it was super awkward. I wasn’t really sure what to talk about since he was described as a family friend in Lenka’s (my host mom) email. We waited for Rebecca to arrive. All of our flights arrived at the same time so why we were put in different taxis makes no sense. Whatever. Biggie is the name of the dog. He is adorable and he thinks he’s a cat. Laurie Anderson is one of the cats, named after a famous singer. Apparently they found her in the garbage.

When Rebecca got there he showed us our rooms. They were attic type spaces with vaulted ceilings but honestly I love it. It reminds me of my room at home. I was able to finally take a shower as well which felt amazing. There was no shower curtain which was weird to me but I easy to adjust to. After lying on my bed for a while I realized how tired I was and nodded off.

When I woke up two hours later I heard voices coming from downstairs and found Adriano, my 13 year old host brother, watching TV. His english is amazing and he seemed way older than he looks. I regret saying hello and leaving. I just thought it would have been a bit too much to sit down and watch program in a foreign language so I went back upstairs and continued my nap. I awoke again to meet Lenka. She was wonderful greeting me with a big hug and a kiss on each cheek. She is very nice and laid back. Unfortunately she couldn’t stay long and had to go out on an errand.

Ten minutes later Rebecca finally came down. She had missed everything. (I will preface the remainder of these posts that I did not like Rebecca very much. It took a lot of patience to tolerate her mannerisms).