Left OKC Tuesday at 12:20, I sat next to a very lovely man from OKC that was on his way to Niagara Falls, he installs breathalyzers in cars :) that made me smile because I knew exactly what he did! Arrived in Chicago at 2:30. Got to my gate at 2:45 for my 3:45 flight- stopped and got a pumpkin spice frap from starbucks and a muffin for lunch. The terminal was packed. When they did start loading at about 3:15 everyone on their grandmas got in line.... i missed that memo... But no worries, about 3:25 when I realized everyone was gone I too got in line! Once in line I realized my backpack was waaaay to big and I really didnt want to sit with it between my legs like i did for the last flight! So i voluntarily asked if it would fit and the lady laughed and said no, i would have to check it. I was not excited about this because that means it would be more, so I groaned, but proceeded to the check out deciding i would rather spend another $100 than be uncomfortable for an 8 hour flight! To my pleasant surprise, they checked the bag for free and said I could pick it up with the rest of my luggage in Dresden! Once on the plane, I was in the second seat in next to an older lady who wanted me to change seats with her grandson, that she wanted me to find.... i chuckled and told her I would not mind changing seats, but I did not know her grandson, therefore I did not know who to look for. She found him, we switched, it was great! It was about 3:45 at this point. We move out and get in line to take off and get going around 4:15-ish. I sat next to a lady from Illinois who is on a Martin Luther tour in Germany, and a man from Poland who was visiting family in Chicago on Holiday. It was a great flight! I didnt sleep much though, which was not to my advantage but it all worked out. I pretty much lost my night. We arrived about 6:50 in frankfurt the next morning (whuch would have been about 11:50 pm OK time).
Wednesday: Arrived in Frankfurt. After unloading the plane, I found a man under a sign that was helping people and he looked at my ticket, told me my gate had changed and crossed out the 9:30 and wrote 8:30. (9:30 was the leave time from frankfurt to dresden). So I went on my merry way to find my gate. Got my passport stamped with no problems. I met another very nice man who was on vacation from Chicago and was meeting a freind in Frankfurt and then they were traveling for 2 weeks. There was also a very helpful lady behind me that grew up in Virginia and then moved to Italy (her mom was in the military) in high school and met her husband and has been their since. She gave me a lot of helpful tips and helped me not freak out looking for my gate! I found the new gate, only to find that the plane had not been moved up an hour, so I still had plenty of time. I bought a coke because I was soooo thirsty! It was 3 Euro, booo! waited for my flight and arrived in Dresden about 10:30. I walked out around 10:50ish and found Larry and Pam, and Roy and Tiffany waiting :) yay for friends! We loaded up and headed back to Chemniz where Karen and a delicious lasagna waiting and we all had lunch together, and Marc and Karen got to come too! That afternoon Tiff took me up to a some stores and showed me how to get there, which will be very handy! We came back and I unpacked my room and stuff to get settleded, then we went over and helped Marc and Karen load up their moving vans. I was exahusted.
Thursday: Woke up at 3 am and had a mini-freak out. But it was okay :). Went back to sleep at 4 and did not wake up to my alarm when it went off at 7 :(. I heard larry knocking at 8 and jumped up and got ready super fast and we were on the road by 8:15 to Leipzig to unload Marc and Karen. They live on the 4th floor I think, something like that, it was up a lot of stairs! We got them all moved in, started to head back, stopped and McDonalds for lunch then got back around 3:30. I got to speak with Larrys reader, I dont remember his name so we will call him Mr. Man, he was nice, I read with him once last summer for Clint. Then Larry got home, and i went to the church with Karen to help her clean. Got back a few minutes til 6. Got ready for English Bible study since it was here, and then people started to come around 6:45. Bible study was great, we talked about choosing our actions. Then I went to bed yay :).
Friday: Got up and went downtown with Roy and Tiffany, got lots of stuff :)! They are getting ready to paint their apartment! and I just got back and had my first Donor. Ok I gotta get off of here, we (Karen, Janine and myself) are going on a Singles Retreat this weekend and I need to pack and go buy a snack!
Please keep my fundraising in your prayers. Funds are coming in, but very slowly! I have around 5 of 30 thousand.
Quote: Dare not to do what the world expects you to do! ~William Zinsser
I LOVE DONOR!!!! If I thought it would make it, I would tell you to box one up and send it to Alaska. :-)
ReplyDeleteGood luck in Germany, Sarah! There might be hard days but you'll make it through! I really love the German and Austrian cultures.
You're in my prayers--