Well, the trip hasn't exactly started yet. It has. And it hasn't. I'll start off with the events that led up to this 2-week trip. Getting involved with a German boy, I bought a ticket to visit back last fall. By the time flight time came around, we were no longer a couple so I cancelled the flight. That left me with the ticket to rebook and use within 10 months of purchasing... August of 2013. As awesome as internship is, I began with 2 weeks of vacation time and I saved the majority of those days to go with this ticket to Europe. Since 3 of my friends would also be in various parts of Europe these first weeks of May, I figured, why not? An hour on the phone with a poor woman I couldn't understand and who couldn't understand me finally re booked the ticket for April 29 - May 10.
My lovely church ladies picked me up at 6:15 sharp this morning and we made the drive to the Eugene airport. I checked in and proceeded through security with only a minor pat-down and running my backpack through the scanner twice. Boarding time came and when I made it to the gate, I was turned away, "You don't have a seat." Oh... ok. Now what? No seat for the intern. With a slight bit of irritation, I made a conscious decision to remain patient and polite as the plane loaded and departed...without me. "What is your final destination?" "Vienna." *Attendants' chins hit floor in a silent "Ooops."*
Now I'm still sitting here in the Eugene, OR airport waiting for my next chance at getting on a plane, only a couple hours later than the first. The Eugene Marathon took place this past weekend and I'm watching runners swarming the airport with their awesome t-shirts. Duh, I'm jealous! I want a Eugene Marathon T! But... I'm sitting here with a messed up foot consuming extremely unhealthy voucher-purchased food.
With little planning, I'm not exactly sure where I'm spending my first night in Europe this time, and I really don't care that I don't have a plan. Something will happen. I have a general outline of where I want to go and in what order. I will land in Vienna, proceed to Budapest, Hungary where I will meet Teagan, a friend I met at my first Goethe German course in September 2011. Then I hope to train it across Slovakia to Krakow where I will take in Krakow's Plaszów concentration camp and Oświęcim's Auschwitz II-Birkenau memorial and museum. From there, I'll meet Iga if I can figure out how to get a train to Gorzów Wielkopolski. A couple days with Iga and then on to Wittenberg, Germany where I'll find Dr. Kleinhans and her May Term class. The last few days of my trip will be some combination of visiting Mandy in the Czech Republic and scouting out the Spanish Riding School back in Vienna.
Lots more to write about... about the latest life events. Grief. Horses. Oh, and internship. ... next time.
Pax.
