Airport Adventures

So, I'm supposed to be in Szeged already with my new family, going over first night questions and trying to fall asleep. Instead, I'm sitting in JFK, where I've been for the past 15 hours.

My flight to Salt Lake City went pretty well. I was in the back of the plane next to the bathroom but it wasn't that bad. When we landed I managed to find my gate pretty easily and continued to cry on the way there and while sitting at the gate. When we all got on the plane to JFK, we had to wait on the tarmac for a little over an hour because there were lines of planes waiting to leave. We finally got in the air and it was a four hour flight. They told us we had to land 50 minutes away in Hartford, Connecticut because the weather was so bad and there were no available gates at JFK.

We sat at Hartford in the middle of the tarmac for I think four hours. I boarded the plane at 10 a.m. CA time and got off the plane at 7 p.m. CA time. While we were sitting at Hartford, we couldn't get off the plane because we didn't have a gate. I sat in my seat and cried and called my mom and the emergency number of the travel agency. They told me to stay on the plane until it gets to JFK and they'll book me another flight.

I got to JFK at 10 p.m. NY time and a flight attendant took me and another guy to a room where they keep unaccompanied minors. I tried not to cry and texted my mom to call the travel agent to see if I could get a hotel. The travel agent called Delta's reservations desk and they said they couldn't keep me in that room and would get me a hotel. However, the ladies at the unaccompanied minor's room kept saying I wasn't of legal age to get a room anyway and I had to stay there because I was 17. My mom talked to one of the ladies, and she was SO rude to my mom. There were about four women yelling at me and telling me I couldn't get a hotel room no matter what the travel agent was saying.

Eventually, I gave up. A nicer lady came in and asked me if I wanted to change my clothes and get something to eat. I told her yes, and I ate a panini. Once I was in my pajamas, I went and laid down in my cot. They couldn't turn the lights off for some reason, so the room was fully lit. They also worked in the room we were in and the room next to it through out the night, so there was always someone talking or a phone ringing. I slept from 2 a.m. to 11 a.m. Even though it was horrible, it made me feel a little bit better.

When I woke up, they told me I could take a shower in their VIP club. I showered, brushed my teeth and hair, and felt so much better. I've had a headache, leg aches, and a back ache ever since the plane from Salt Lake, but I just bought Advil to feel better. I haven't cried yet today and I feel a lot better. I emailed my host family to tell them what was going on and they said not to worry and that they're waiting for me and they love me :). I talked to Melissa and she said it was the first time she's seen something like this happen to a student. While I'm glad to know I'll be of help to anyone this happens to in the future, I wish I wouldn't have gone through it.

So now I'm sitting at my gate at American Airlines. They've been so much nicer than Delta.. nearly everyone I've talked to has noticed my blazer and knows I'm a Rotary student. At Delta, I was never asked once while I was there, only where I was going. I have 3 hours until my plane boards, so I think I'm going to watch some TV on Hulu and then maybe Rent if I have time. The wait here isn't so bad, especially considering what I went through yesterday!

I'm so glad to be hours away from boarding. It's been such a long night and day and I can't wait to arrive. I know it's going to be so much better finally seeing my family since I've gone through all of this! Next post will DEFINITELY be from Hungary :).

The night before departure!

As I'm writing this, I'm about 6 hours away from boarding my first plane. In almost exactly 24 hours, I'll be stepping off the plane and meeting my host family for the first time. Crazy.

The week leading up to tonight has been both good and bad. Good because I saw so many people and did a lot of fun things.. bad because at the end of each day I was saying goodbye to someone new. It's been really hard but I know it's not forever. I'll be able to see everyone when I come home and it'll be as if I never left.

It's really a weird feeling knowing I'm leaving. I look at my suitcases and my chain-link countdown and I know that it's my last night... but it doesn't feel like it. It feels like something big is happening but I just can't believe it's the night before I leave. I know it doesn't make sense, and it probably won't to anyone that's never been in this situation before.

It's hard to believe I'm at this point. I can't even put into words how grateful I am and how much this opportunity means to me. Even just being a part of Rotary has been one of the best experiences of my life. I've learned so much about myself and the world just from these upcoming months preparing, and I can't wait to learn anymore. I would like to thank the Visalia Breakfast Rotary Club for adopting me and Melissa Mears for making any of this possible!

So, I guess my next update will be from Hungary. I've talked to my host family and they're so excited for me to get in. They just bought a new sofa for my room :). I can't wait to meet them and start learning and speaking Hungarian! I know it's going to be a challenge but it's going to be the best challenge ever. I'm so ready for this year and so ready to just get there.

Time to try to sleep for 3 hours and 45 minutes... I'll post again from the other side!

Going away party!

Tonight (well, last night, since it's past midnight on Friday now) was my going away party. My dad and his girlfriend threw it for me and I'm so grateful! They did all the decorations and most of the planning and I really couldn't have imagined it going any better.

I'm so happy! I have some of the best friends in the world and it's going to be so hard leaving them. They've been some of the most supportive people throughout all of this and I'm so thankful for all they've done for me.

And so now, here I am, exactly a week from departure. My grandma comes to visit this weekend and I've made plans for all of this coming week. It's going to just fly by and to be honest, I'm getting really excited.

I can't wait to be in Hungary!

Quality time and shopping

Last night, the student my district is hosting from Hungary arrived in California! His name is Peter and we've been talking since about March or April. He's living in Visalia, which is about an hour from where I live. Anyway, I went with his host family (my friend Karlie's family) to the airport and then to dinner and spent the night with him. We made homemade chocolate chip cookies together and Karlie and I made him a sign. Overall it was a good first night for him, I'd say! This weekend Karlie, Peter, Karlie's mom, and I are going to Disneyland!! I'm so excited and it's Peter's first time, so it should be super fun.

I bought my suitcases last Friday and have gone shopping for small things on and off throughout this week. I just got most of my toiletry items and we bought A LOT. It's hard though because it's all stuff I need! I've been throwing everything into my big suitcase, and I'm probably going to sort through it and start seriously packing next weekend.

I think that's all that's been going on here. I'll probably update after my going away party, which is next Thursday! Peter and Karlie are coming, and I'm so excited to have an actual Hungarian there (...I'm such a nerd).

16 days until I'm on a plane, 17 days until I'm in Hungary!

Itinerary!!

I just received my flight itinerary!!

19 AUG 11 - FRIDAY
LV FRESNO 6:33A 01HR 35MIN
AR SALT LAKE CITY 9:08A
LV SALT LAKE CITY 11:00A 04HR 52MIN
AR NEW YORK JFK 5:52P
LV NEW YORK JFK 7:40P 09HR 10MIN

20 AUG 11 - SATURDAY
AR BUDAPEST 10:50A

I'm so excited... I know of four other students on my flight, and I'm sitting by one of them! The only thing I'm not excited for is arriving at the airport here at 4:30 in the morning. I'm kind of glad for it though, because I won't be able to spend the whole day sitting around the house crying (which I will then just do on the 18th).

I've also talked to my new first family a bit more, and I love them. They have the cutest pets and they seem so nice. I've gotten really lucky with two of the families I know, and I hope the other(s) are just as great!

So, I'm exactly four weeks from departure and I have no idea how to feel about that. I'm more excited now than I have been, so I hope these four weeks go by quickly!

I'm actually leaving.

I just had my first really big realization that I'm actually leaving.

I won't be starting school with my classmates. I won't be driving. I won't wake up in my bed. I won't see my mom. I won't text Alissa all day. I won't go to forensic's tournaments. I won't have journalism. I won't drive down Shaw to go to work. I won't even have "work" to go to. I won't cheer at football games. I won't get food with my friends before cheer practice. I won't have my cats. Everything I have now and do now will never be exactly the way it is again.

I don't want to say goodbye to anyone. I'm absolutely terrified about the day that I'll wake up and have to go to the airport and say goodbye. I'm not ready to leave my friends and my family. It scares me to death and I'm just not ready. I still have a little under a month and two weeks, yet it feels like I don't have enough time.

Even though I'm scared and not ready, I know I have to go. I'm certain that I want to do this and have the experience that I'll have. And if any exchange student ever says they're not scared, I can guarantee they're lying. This is so silly, because at the exact same time I'm thinking these things, I'm also thinking about how excited I am and how I can't wait to go. It's such a dramatic range of emotions and I couldn't possibly start to explain how I'm feeling.

For now, I'm just finishing up summer school, listening to Hungarian radio stations, and talking with other exchange students going to Hungary. I still haven't talked to my new first family, but I imagine I'll post once I actually have something to say about them.

39 days until my earliest departure. :) / :(

It's my birthday!

Yay! I'm 17! Alissa and I were supposed to go to Great America, but I got really sick out of no where and we had to reschedule. I'm really upset over the whole thing, but I guess I'll get over it. Alissa's coming over now, so at least I'll have some company. We may go see a rated R movie later if I'm feeling better, so I have that to look forward to!

Other than that, next weekend is my last orientation! I have to memorize all these facts about Hungary and speak for a while in Hungarian (as always) and I'm very nervous about that. I think I'll be okay though.

I finished one of my summer school classes, and my next one starts on Tuesday. I hope I can get through it as fast as the last one, because I really don't want to be in a classroom for that long.

That's all for now! 50 days until my earliest departure!