Landed!

As I wait in the DFW airport for my first flight to board I think about the blog post I will write when I’ve landed and settled in to my flat in Budapest (I’ve got to get used to the word flat instead of apartment because I don’t think that’s what they’re called in Europe). I’ve got a crazy itinerary for the day/night (DFW -> Toronto, Toronto -> Frankfurt, Frankfurt -> Budapest) and I’m beginning to wonder just how tired I will be when I make it to my next home. I don’t know what jet lag feels like, but I woke up at 3:30 this morning to drive to the airport in Dallas and I’m tired enough to think maybe I do know what jet lag feels like. The good news is 3 AM Oklahoma time is 11AM in Budapest so I’m already starting to fix my internal clock a bit. Maybe? I suppose I’d understand more about time zones and traveling if I’d been to more places than the continental US and Ottawa that one time. I know I’ll figure it out though :) I’m a little worried I should’ve read a bit more about Budapest or taken a modern European culture class or something; I think I’m going to be that foolish American when I land. I just never really found the time and discipline to do some reading before now and I guess I’ll be in Budapest soon so I’ll read as needed. I wanted an adventure when I applied to study abroad and I think that’s what I’ll end up with this semester.

My flight from Dallas to Toronto got delayed and I missed my connection to Frankfurt. I was told I could make the flight and even ran through the terminal. I got there 2 minutes before the take off time and they wouldn’t let me on the plane. I was super sweaty and exhausted (I hadn’t slept on my last flight like I should have). I almost fell asleep at the customer service desk while I waited practically a half hour to get a new flight to Germany. Then I went to find food hoping it would cheer me up. The terminal in Toronto has those fancy iPad ordering systems at their restaurants. I had to sit down at 5 before I found one that would work. Luckily the food was worth it, but boy was I annoyed by the whole thing. At least I could drink wine in Canada. Thanks to rescheduling my flight I had a super long layover. I had a lot of movies to watch courtesy of my Aunt Shawna, but I also needed to let my laptop charge for the plane ride. At least outlets were easy to come by around there. I felt really dirty and tired and am really unsure how people survive international travel. My friend Aki once told me she loved traveling and I’m really not sure why. I guess if you grow up flying around the world you get used to it… My cold’s not really helping things, but is less severe aside from my eardrums feeling like they’re gonna burst at any high altitude. Let’s hope my connection from Frankfurt is seamless. I’ve heard worrying things about getting in to Budapest lately due to massive amounts of war migrants seeking asylum.

I missed my connection in Frankfurt. I’m not surprised, but super pissed at Air Canada. Why do they let this happen?! One hour connections are not realistic and I am so tired. I now have an unreasonably long layover and will not get to Budapest until 6 PM. I’m very annoyed since I’m basically losing a day in the city over this mess, but mostly I just feel dirty and tired. I also feel super weird. Like, what time is it? Maybe this is what jet lag feels like. I just pray I make my next flight and my ears return to normal at some point. Thanks to my cold and generally ill sinuses there has just been constant pressure in my ears. It’s like I’m inside a fish bowl.

Once in Germany I discovered that all my electronics (except my laptop) were dead and all my european plugs were in Budapest already. So, I plugged my phone in to my laptop and hoped that it’s battery would be enough. But, I couldn’t be bored so naturally I got online to run down my laptop’s batteries other ways. Eventually I had to pee. It shouldn’t be that hard to find a bathroom in Germany (especially since everything is also in English), but I made it hard. There were signs pointing to the left and right sides of every block between gates that said “toilettes.” I should have found them quickly, but instead tried to open at least three ominous looking black doors marked with what had to be German warning labels before realizing that the bathrooms were tucked around the corners near the backside of the gates.

I eventually got out of Germany and landed in Budapest. After all those delays I was worried I wouldn’t get my bag on time, but it came through. All 49.5 pounds of it. My flight landed late and I was a little worried about making it to the person who was supposed to pick me up, so I was ready to rush through customs. But, I didn’t even go through customs which I found shocking. As I walked out I looked out in to a sea of people and some guy with curly black hair was waving fervently at me. I walked up to him and said, “Are you looking for Cali?" And he was like, “ Yes, thank god they didn’t keep you in Germany!” To which I responded, “Yeah I just had a short connection time and took too long getting through customs.” He was worried I was going to be held back because of the migrant crisis. Then he grabbed up one of my bags and walked me over to wait for a car. An unmarked van pulled up and he walked toward it. “Is this us?” I asked. He said, “Haha, yeah get in the unmarked van.” I started to kinda worry I had just been kidnaped, but he handed me a bunch of paperwork with my name all over it and took me to my apartment so it was fine. (Note: this guy works for my study abroad program and I was sort of expecting him. Technically I was expecting a different guy, but my itinerary changed too much). Greg helped me and my flatmate get our rent settled, and showed us around the neighborhood. (Fun fact about the locks in doors in Budapest: the key goes in upside down from the American way). Before our neighborhood tour my friend Megan arrived, so she went with us and then we all went out to dinner after Greg left us. We ate delicious Pad Thai. Then I unpacked in to my spacious room (it has a foosball table!), showered, put on my pjs, and got to blogging so I could finally crash.

This blog post is long, but writing saved me from going crazy during my 20 hour trip to get to my new apartment. I can already tell this adventure is going to be a blast. Also, it's just passed 11 PM here and I'm ready for bed. It doesn't even feel like the middle of the day. I guess this is what it's like to beat jet lag.

P.S. I'm gonna send out Budapest post cards, so please message/email me if you'd like one!