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As I Fly Across The Pond

I write this entry while on the plane from Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany. So far, the trip has been without complication and relatively smooth. I guess I just thought it would be cool to write a blog while I’m thousands of miles in the air flying over the ocean... so here’s some random things that have happened to me in the last 12-18 hours:

Well for starters, the last meal I ate in Janesville was not wasted and genuinely savored... Culvers. I even substituted my fries for cheese curds because I knew it’d be a while before I got to eat them again. And of course I got ice cream no matter how full I was, but I forgot to eat the rest of it after we took it home. Major bummer.

Then once I got home I figured I should probably make sure my bags weren’t over the weight limit (airlines charge an outrageous fine for that). So once I knew I had everything in there I felt I needed, I locked them up, took them out to the hallway, and brought out the scale from my parents’ bathroom. One of my bags is the traditional big black rectangle, which was easy enough to weigh (JUUUUST made it under the limit, score!!), but my other bag is a big duffle bag on wheels. Mom and I tried for a good 15 minutes to weigh that bag; I tried holding it and weighing myself but the scale wouldn’t have it. Long story short, we waited for my dad to get home, because weighing luggage is apparently just another random talent of his. We ended up being fine with both bags, although we paid a good chunk of money for the second bag. I’m sorry, but there’s NO way you can expect me to pack my life into ONE bag for a whole year!!

So away we went, my parents and I, but we had to stop to fill the car up with gas before we took off for Chicago. While my dad was busy filling up, I got a few bucks from mom to get something in the gas station. Well, apparently Dad didn’t see me get out, because right as I walked out the door towards the car, he started pulling out of the gas station! At first I thought he was just moving away from the pump, but nope!! Good thing my mom pointed out the absence of a third person in the car before he got too far. But we had a good laugh about it, considering the whole trip to Chicago would have been kind of pointless had I stayed behind.

Zooming ahead: Ate Taco Bell at the Oasis over the highway outside Chicago, drove around and around looking for the right terminal (which strangely enough was NOT the International Departure terminal.. go figure), checked in fine, eventually said goodbyes to my parents (where I managed to stay tear-free, and, well, Mom didn’t), got through security, found my gate, and from that point on, I was not alone.

On my way to the gate, I got a highly-interested look from a boy coming out of the bathroom. I knew I was traveling with a boy and another girl (whom I’d already met prior to) but I didn’t really know what he looked like. Well he had his blue Rotary blazer on, so I knew right away I was allowing this kid to breathe a sigh of relief because he was no longer alone. We chatted for a while (his name is Sam, 16, from NC) and before too long, we were joined by Gaia, the other Rotary student who would be accompanying us to Turkey. However, they will stay together the entire time, but I will leave them in Munich to go to Izmir when they go to Ankara. There were, for lack of a better way to say it, a gazillion people waiting in line to get on this flight. But somehow we all managed to fit in! Originally, us 3 students weren’t sitting anywhere near each other, but an extremely nice gentleman switched seats with me and allowed me to sit across the aisle from Gaia.

Flight-wise, nothing all that interesting to report I guess... at least so far. We had a bit of turbulence at the start, which just makes me laugh because I think of my mother and how tense she gets whenever the plane shakes. My ears didn’t even pop like they normally do, so I feel much like I do when I’m on a bus or in a car traveling somewhere... at least it’s easier to sleep if I think that way. With roughly two and a half hours left on the trip, I’m pretty much done sleeping I think. I think I got about 3 and a half, maybe four hours in... I’ll be fine! Before I slept I watched Pirates of the Caribbean 4, only because I never paid the $7 to go see it in theaters and I’m a BIG Jack Sparrow fan... oh, sorry, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow. I wasn’t thrilled though... but that’s beside the point.

Perhaps I’ll write a bit more on my flight from Munich to Izmir, because then I’ll have waited 4 hours in the airport with Sam and Gaia, which I’m sure will provide a story or two worthy of telling.

Well! As promised, I am now writing on the plane from Munich to Izmir. Sam, Gaia and I had quite the time wasting a few hours in the airport. Our adventures included marveling at the smoking vestibules located throughout the airport, the “nap cubes” where you could pay 10 Euros to nap in a box, changing our money to Euros so we could eat some rather delicious food, collapsing on random mega-bean bags they had laying in the middle of the airport for some reason (We think it was advertising for a hotel, but we couldn’t read the sign. We even spared 2 Euros each to use the massage chairs by our gates, and WOW was it worth it!! After traveling 9 hours, then another hour, all three of us were reluctant to get up from those chairs after our 10 minutes was up. We drew the attention of several people the entire time, mostly because we were speaking English, but I remedy that our lack of sleep was getting to our heads and making us a little loopy, which might explain why we were singing and dancing to “My Humps” while we ate... we’re exchange students!! It’s a fool-proof excuse for almost anything! But unfortunately, Gaia and I look kind of German, so several people have attempted to talk to us in German and look strangely at us when we stand there stuttering.

As I said, I have now left Sam and Gaia and I’m traveling alone to Izmir now. Back home, it’s roughly 1:30 pm. Here, though, it’s roughly 8 or 9, I can’t tell for sure. Needless to say, my mind and body are VERY confused with my odd sleep patterns (or lack there-of) and also with all the different languages surrounding me. I whipped out my Turkish phrasebook on this flight and I’ve been desperately trying to jam all the meet-and-greet phrases into my head so I don’t make a fool out of myself when I arrive in Izmir. I know the people that will be waiting for me speak at least a little English, but still, I’d like to impress them a little if I can. (aka. show them I’m not “just another lazy American.”) I guess we’ll just wait and see how that goes. All those post-flight experiences will be in the next blog, because this one is already running long.

There are so many things running through my head right now, and I don’t know which feelings to focus on or which wants to fulfill. Part of me misses home, part of me couldn’t care less because I’m about to land on the other side of the world, part of me is completely confident that I can do anything and another part is panicking that this won’t be everything I hoped it would be and that something will go wrong. I’m nervous, excited, anxious, confused... etc etc. As for what to do or what not to? I could read the book my sister and brother-in-law gave me to have a laugh or two, I could study more Turkish and hopefully retain another word or two, I could try to sleep again, maybe play some Sudoku on my computer... I really don’t know! I forgot this feeling from last time; feeling like a chicken with its head cut off... that’s running around on a different side of the farm where there aren’t any other chickens... where all the other animals speak in tongues I don’t comprehend... and I’m trying to survive in the midst of it all. But ya know, I’ve been given countless examples of why worrying about things doesn’t make a situation better or happen faster. All I can do in this very moment is sit back and wait until the plane lands and then step off with an open mind and a smile on my face. I may not know the people who are meeting me, or know how to communicate with them in their language, but that’s what I know right now, and right now, that’s all I really need.

Haley Drozdowicz is a Craig High School student who's visiting Turkey. She's studying there as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Haley is a community blogger and is not a part of The Gazette staff. Her opinion is not necessarily that of the The Gazette staff or management.