I'm here! In my apartment, chillin with my roommates!

Here's how it all went down:
Jess and Doug's wedding was Friday night, and we needed to check out of our hotel by 11 am! Eek! So early! So after packing, we said goodbye to the rest of the Seattle friends, and went in search of a hearty American breakfast! We ate at this cute diner in East Stroudsburg, PA, and from there, the search for a headset adapter began. We drove all around, to finally find this really rinky dink Office Max that had definitely seen better days. My husband drove us to the airport then, and after returning the car, we found out check ins.

After checking in, we had about 2 hours before we had to board the planes, but alas! We were at different gates with different security points! So we spent an hour just hanging out, and spending the last time we had together just talking, and doing all that cutesy stuff couples do. Finally, we had to part ways.

I'm not gonna lie...I teared up a few times in the security line, partly cause I missed him already, and partly cause I was nervous. I made it through, however, and immediately called Gabe. Just because I could. We chatted, and I called my sister, and Joan, Gabe's mom. And then Gabe again. Once I boarded the plane, we texted until we couldn't anymore, and I was off. There was no turning back at that point.

British Airways is amazing. Just saying. Gabe was joking that they'd be serving tea and crumpets, and while they didn't serve tea and crumpets, they DID serve tea and biscuits (cookies)! We had a 4 course dinner with complimentary wine, our own blankets and pillows! The only downside with the whole flight to London was that my remote for watching movies didn't work. I didn't REALLY need to watch What to Expect When you're Expecting, or that new Johnny Depp movie where he's a 200 year old vampire set in the 1960s. I took my sleeping pill, put my head on my UW pillow pet, and passed out.

My transfer in London was...interesting. I had 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to my connecting plane, but when you get to London, you have to go through security again. And I had forgotten that I had Aquaphor (a petroleum based jelly) for my lips and the lens cleaning solution that Gabe got for me as a going away gift. So they took my backpack, which was stuffed to the brim, and pulled EVERYTHING out and did a once over. So by then, I had 20 minutes to get to my gate...and the gates were closing! I ran for it and made it to....a bus! Which took us to this tiny Airbus 320 plane (my first was a Boeing 777...I always try to pay attention to the planes that I ride on), where we got to climb the steps to the top of the plane. It almost made you feel like a movie star...except the fact that everyone else was doing it, haha! That plane ride was short, just an hour and a half.

And I landed in Prague. After going through the shortest customs line I had ever seen (all they did was look at my passport) I went off to the baggage claim. The problem here was that no one had told us which baggage claim we were in, and the sign only listed the incoming flights. After standing awkwardly for some time in between two baggage claims, i saw some people from my plane at claim. I waited...and waited...and one piece of my luggage came out. I had checked 2 and gate checked my duffel (carry-on). And it never came. There was this airport guy taking the left over baggage off of the carousel, so I asked him if there was more luggage coming out of the thing, and he told me in broken English to go to the counter. When I got to counter, she asked for my address and a phone number. I knew my address, and my school's address (which is where all packages and mail are supposed to go), but I didn't know my phone number...so I gave them Gabe's number. A US number...if they called him, we'd have some pretty expensive fees to pay! Without my huge bags, I decided to take the bus. The ticket machine wouldn't take my Czech crowns (pronounced "koruna"), so I asked some nice looking people at the bus stop if it had to be exact change. Which of course they didn't understand...I mean, I don't know how to say "exact" in French and I studied it for almost 4 years! Anyways, they told me I could buy a ticket on the bus. They were so nice! They even told me where I needed to get off! Apparently, however, I took the express bus...which cost almost twice as much as the bus normally takes, but with their help, it was totally worth it. After studying the map I went one way, and then realized I had no clue where I was going, so I pulled out my map again, and went the other way. I must have looked so funny! I was pulling my bright magenta suitcase (Thank you Ree and Kae!) with my UW pillow pet in between the handles, holding a wool sweater. I wasn't sure if I was going the right way, so I checked out the map again, and went the exact opposite way!

After about 15-20 minutes, I got to the apartment, and looked inside. It looked like...I don't know!  I wasn't even sure if it was an apartment building! And I didn't have my roommate Elizabeth's phone number. This older lady came out of the building, and I asked her if she spoke English, and she said no. I tried anyways, and asked her if Americans had moved in. And she just looked at me funny, lol! So I opened up my suitcase in the middle of the street to get my nifty, super dumb phone, and called my program directors, who gave me Elizabeth's phone number. She was in the apartment, but didn't know I was down on the street. She took me into the weird cave looking thing, and up three flights of winding stairs...

And I was there! We have four keys to get into our apartment. The first is for the door to the street, the second to the barrier door (or you can use a passcode). We have this cage surrounding our front door, probably about 15 square feet? And that needs a lock, and then, of course, the front door. The apartment is amazing! It is huge, and bright, and beautiful, with hardwood floors, and is decorated by Ikea, so ultra modern. Apparently there is one on either side of the city. We even have a dining/living room! And if you look out the window of my room, you can see one of the most popular streets in the city.

We went to the grocery store to get stuff to make a pasta dinner, and we couldn't read anything! Almost everything is in Czech. I needed baking soda, and granulated sugar, and somehow ended up getting powdered sugar, and no baking soda. So funny! Because I didn't have my luggage, I ended up having to borrow my roommate's pyjama bottoms.

This morning waking up was weird. I kept feeling like I should feel like it's weird that I'm in a foreign country, but I didn't. I couldn't read the box of granola, and I had to look at a map to get to school, but other than that, it was weird. We had orientation, and went over the program syllabus, and then we went to the Old Town square. It was so pretty! We saw the Astronomical tower, and went to the top! It was so pretty! You could see all of Prague from there! After that, we went to this really amazing restaurant, where the portions were HUGE! It was both my lunch AND dinner! It was covered by the program, which was nice. During class, around noon, my luggage came! So I convinced the boys to help lug those up the stairs. And I unpacked! And did my homework, and am now blogging. It was so nice to be able to wash my face properly, and not use a kitchen towel to dry off!

And now to skype with my husband! yay Prague!