We made it!

I just made it into the hotel where we're all staying until we get apartments- the Star Panzio.  It's comfortable; I like it.  I'll post some photos once I unpack my camera.

I suppose that chronologically is a great way to start, so let's begin with this morning.  Got up around 9:30, got ready to go to Dulles, and double-checked that I wasn't forgetting anything.  Left the house around 1 PM.  Arrived at the airport around 3:30 or so (I don't really remember).  I'd checked in online, so I thought checking my bags would be relatively quick.  However, it turned out that my backpack couldn't count as a personal website, despite what the airline website said, so I ended up having to check my carry-on, carry on my backpack, and pay a fee for a second checked bag.  That was frustrating.  I had to do some speedy rearranging of stuff between my carry on and my backpack, and I got rather stressed out.  I'm kind of thinking that I want to get another suitcase for the return trip, because if I have to pay to check something else, it could at least be a decent size (and I could store my backpack within and thus avoid that debacle again).  After that, we found a little travel shop where my parents got me earplugs and a travel pillow, as well as a "soft" and "feminine" body wallet (lol).  We kind of just hung out in some chairs until I got antsy doing nothing, and we wandered around the lower level briefly before we said our goodbyes.

I remained mostly composed through the hugs and picture taking and last words.  As I got to security, though, the first TSA guy I interacted with was unfortunate enough to deal with teary eyed Hanna, fumbling for her passport.  He was really nice, though.  I didn't have to go through a bodyscanner.  It was painless.

After finding my terminal, I waited for Dani and charged my phone.  I texted my family and Charles and when Dani got there, I walked to a pizza place and wolfed down a slice of pepperoni pizza and a piece of garlic bread, saving the other piece of bread for Dani.  It turned out the outlet I was using was broken.  After figuring that out, I only got about 20 minutes of charging done before the flight boarded.

The airplane was AWESOME!
It was huge, but pillows and blankets were waiting in the seats.  There was an individual TV screen on the back of each seat, on which travel info and entertainment were available.  I ended up watching the Social Network and Legend of the Guardians, both of which were disappointing.  We were given dinner, which I think was probably really good, although since I'm such a picky eater, I couldn't appreciate it.  I didn't starve, though.  The really nice flight attendants came around with drinks and hot towels and nuts and water and other such things probably on average every hour.  There was a cute little girl that sat next to me, and she fell asleep on my headrest at one point.  I couldn't sleep at all, though.  I couldn't get comfortable enough for that.  I attempted to read a bit, but couldn't focus.  I played solitaire and other games on the TV screen.  Eventually, the flight finally ended about an hour after they had served breakfast and we were in Amsterdam!

While the plane was reaching the terminal, I noticed how similar planes look to whales.  It was weird.  The Amsterdam airport is pretty cool.  On the return trip, I'll actually have some time to explore.  I know Emma wants wooden shoes, and I saw some there, so I'll have to get some Euro on my way back. Dani and I raced to our gate for the flight to Budapest, as it was the farthest thing away possible.  To our surprise, we ran into two other McDaniel students on the same flight.  This flight was much shorter and in a smaller plane.  They served us these weird sandwiches I didn't like all that much, but there were these really good cookies!  We arrived and helped each other out with our bags.  Dani brought so many, zebra print to prevent them from getting lost or stolen, and it was funny because usually I'm the one with way too much stuff.  Not this time.  We met up with the man that's been sending us emails about McDaniel Budapest stuff, and he took us to the ATM and helped us get on the bus to be taken to the hotel.  He was really nice and helpful.

I don't really know what I was expecting, but so much in Hungary is similar to America, like road signs and billboards and stuff.  I was expecting huge differences, I guess.  Signage was in Hungarian.  The center line of the road is white instead of yellow.  Traffic lights sometimes are red and yellow simultaneously and I have no idea why.  The bus driver unloaded our bags in front of the hotel and with multiple trips we managed to carry everything to the front desk, where we signed in and got our keys.

Now, I'm exhausted, and although I know I should wait until tonight to sleep, the bed is just asking for me to sleep in it.  I'm also hungry, so Dani and I will probably go scavenging on the streets of Budapest, searching for a restaurant or convenience store of some sort.

Tonight, everyone is meeting in the lobby at 7 for pizza and some initial orientation information.