4/2/11

With fear from the news about a hellacious ice storm that would hit today, I thought that my flight could be canceled.  But the very second I woke up this morning I ran to my window to find nothing.  Nothing!  Not a single flake of the 2-4 inches of snow they’ve been terrifying us with bringing thick ice and sleet.  This Arctic Blast was more of an Arctic Bust in some ways.  My brothers’ schools were canceled for today because everyone thought they were going to get snowed in.  I know what you’re thinking, especially if you’re from up in penn State, “Snowed in with 2-4 inches?”.  But I live in Houston.  Being prepared for weather like this to us is like people from North Dakota being prepared for a hurricane.  Anyways my brothers were excited with the thought of snow and so was I a bit.  Snow days never happen here.  So in a sense it was a major let down.  But regardless I was excited because it meant that my flight to Turkey was still on schedule.  On the way to the airport my dad pulled off so I could get my last Texas BBQ fix before I leave.  The meal was huge and quite good.  I grabbed some moist towelettes before heading out because I knew they would come in handy later.  Security was surprisingly a breeze to get through.  As I waited for my plane to begin boarding, I ran around the airport looking for a book to read on the plane and a plug adapter for when I’m abroad.  I also managed to visit the currency exchange booth before franticly getting back to my gate.   I’ve never been on a flight overseas before and as I walked on to the 747 I was amazed at how big it was on the inside.  First thing I noticed was the television monitors built into the seats in front of us.  I am used to the one every four rows or so hanging from the ceiling where you had no choice on the in-flight movie.  I was on that tv like a crackberry addict watching movies that I haven’t had the chance yet, till falling asleep at 4 in the morning.

5/2/11

My flight safely made it to Amsterdam this morning.  I was excited to finally get off the plane to stretch my legs.  Everything was nice till I figured out my connecting flight was across the entire airport.  Luckily I had time so I walked to terminal D29 where they said my next flight would leave from.  Walking through the airport in Amsterdam was an experience on its own.  Funny shaped vibrant color plastic chairs littered the area.  Shops seemed to appear out of nowhere.  The airport was even complete with a second story enclosed art gallery that was hanging from the ceiling with a staircase going up right through the middle.  The D terminal in Amsterdam is actually split into two separate terminals and while walking towards Gate 29 I was constantly looking for the computer schedule screens to confirm the exact gate of my flight but couldn’t find any.  Gate 29 was the second to last gate on this side of the terminal and walking down to it everything seemed dead.  No one was around and those who were seemed asleep in their chairs.  Finally arriving at the gate and fully excited to be on the last leg of my travel, things quickly changed when the country on the gate screen wasn’t Turkey.  Aggravated I looked around for those damn screens again to find my gate but found a restroom instead which was great cause after being on a plane for eight or nine hours is the first thing you want most.  I was able to take a quick towelette bath from the towelettes I took from the BBQ joint thanking God I took those.  Now to find those schedule screens.  I was finally able to find one where I learned that my gate had been moved to D49.  Frustrated that my gate was now at the end of the other D terminal I hurried to get to the gate with enough time.  I finally found Gate 49 and saw that Istanbul was flashing on the screen.  I quickly went through security again and had a minute to sit down before they began boarding.  This plane was smaller and had no televisions.  I was able to fall asleep leaning against the window for the first hour before the pilot came on the intercom announcing that we are flying over the Transylvanian Alps which was very beautiful to see the snow capped mountains and tiny villages hidden in the valleys of them.  I have flown on many planes before, from vacations and commuting between Houston and Penn State, but none with this kind of social atmosphere.  Everyone on the plane was talking loud, laughing, and having a great time. I was surprised that I was able to sleep on the plane in the first place but it was actually quite entertaining. Listening to the passengers speak Turkish was exciting.  It meant that I was now so close to my destination.  It was tough to really hear anything over the wind passing by, not that I could understand much Turkish anyways but I was trying to pick out anything I might know.  After landing, customs was pretty easy to go through, and because I promised my friends I would I began singing “Istanbul, not Constantinople” as I walked to pick up my luggage.  I grabbed my things and walked out the exit looking for the Star Bucks where I was supposed to meet my ride.  Because of traffic the student mentors to pick a group of 18 American students showed up almost 2 hours late.  Many of us were hoping this wasn’t some kind of prank.  I we wanted to sit in a Star Bucks we could’ve stayed in America but fortunately they did show up.  Traffic in Istanbul is terrible.  And that saying something being from Houston.  I was totally surprised that there were no accidents on the way to the college.  People selling bananas and pretzels must have death wishes because they would walk between the chaotic traffic on the highway.  By the time we all arrived to the campus we only wanted our dorm keys so that we can finally get some sleep.  Tomorrow we begin orientation and traveling around the city so we can get use to where to get groceries and learn how transportation works.  I can easily say that I’m very excited to be a program like this one because of the complete immersion into a new culture.

Location: Istanbul