After the nap...

Well, it's after my first night here in Prague. The trip here was uneventful but very long. I got to the Dallas airport super early because they said to be at the airport 2 hours before departure time for an international flight. So Russ and I dragged ourselves up and got to the airport at 6:45 am so I could check my bags and make it through security in time. Bah. It took me less than fifteen minutes from when the porter helped me carry my bags upstairs, to check them, stand in line, and go through the security checkpoint. So much for being early. My flight finally left 2 hours later, but I was able to while away the time talking to a very nice older woman about her grandson and the arts. It was incredibly nice to find someone who feels that the arts are important, and that they can be useful tools for children to adjust to new lifestyles. She said that she wanted to expose him to art and music, and that he was going to be taking lessons in both. Why can't the whole world have grandmothers like that?!

Dallas to Detroit was short; the Detroit airport is very nice and open. I talked to Becca and Mom and Caelan, then had to scarf down some lunch before getting on the flight to Amsterdam. Thankfully, there was a little Mediterranean grill right next to my gate, so I got a sandwich quickly (and it was good!). Our flight was 8 hours long, but it was eased a little by the fact that I was sitting on a row with 2 other students traveling abroad, one going to Spain, one to Turkey. We had a nice time chatting about going abroad and why we were going to our specific chosen locations, etc. The plane also had lots of free movies and music to choose from to listen to/watch, so I finally got to see Inkheart. Definitely prefer the book, for the record. Having forgotten Gogol at home, I did some reading out of our course book, but was unable to fall asleep. All in all, I was glad to get off the plane, since I couldn't relieve the monotony by getting any rest. I'd hoped to reset my clock by sleeping during the flight, since my arrival time in Amsterdam was 5:30 am. Oh well, that didn't happen...

In the Amsterdam airport. Thought I had plenty of time, but spent 45 minutes standing in a gigantic line for passport check and then a security check for carry-on luggage (again?!). No one understood why we had to go through a security check if our passports had been okay, but whatever. Then I discovered that my departure gate was at the -end- of the concourse from security, so I basically had to run to the gate and arrived with 5 minutes to spare before my flight left. The stewardess looked totally nonchalant as I boarded the plane, like we were in no hurry at all. Was trying to sleep on this flight, but apparently I needed to eat one more time (we had a snack, dinner, and another snack on the Detroit flight!) and so somewhere in my stomach I managed to fit two rolls, one with cheese and one with mascarpone, and more coffee. About an hour later, I was in Prague. I found the way up and out of the baggage claim and discovered the driver who was waiting to collect me and another couple. He loaded us in the van, and we were off. Literally. We hurtled down the mountain at a breakneck pace, around curves and through traffic. It reminded me of driving through Colorado mountains, except for the fact that in Colorado there are no houses to keep you from falling off the side of the mountain. Needless to say, I had to push away from the window until we finally came to a stop at the apartment building. I then had to haul my luggage to the third floor, which in Europe-speak is really the fourth floor of a building, but thankfully there was an elevator, albeit tiny.

To clarify on the bidet... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidet