WELL, HERE IT GOES...

Being 38,000 feet in the air is about as good of a time as any to start a blog. Never would I have thought that I would be in a two story plane, smelling the delightful scent of that infamous air line food, on my way to St. Petersburg, Russia! Thaaat’s right! I'm moving to Russia! Well, for four months that is, but still pretty cool huh?

 I am now a member of the ILP (International Language Program) and will be a teaching English at a Russian elementary school by day, and American tourist by night. The only Russian I know is, “yes,” “no,” and “will you kiss me?” Hopefully one of those I will never have to say. My plan is for me and this blog to become the best of pals over the next four months as I embark on all these new adventures!

Just getting to where I am now was an adventure of itself.  I had my alarm set for 5am giving me a good amount of time to get the last of my things together and get all prepped and ready to go. But my grandma had a different idea as she loudly shoved open the door (the door gets jammed so you really have to put some elbow grease into it) saying in a not so soft whisper of a voice, “Time to get up! It’s a quarter to five!” Now I know what you're thinking, it’s only fifteen minutes early, but when you love sleep as much as I do, I was not happy to have lost those fifteen blissful minutes. I tried to fall back asleep but when she kept on coming back in asking me if I was going to curl my hair, if I wanted to try this new guava juice she found at the store, if I was ready to eat the breakfast that she had actually prepared the morning before, if I had gone pee yet, and then waddled over to me and then proceeded to poke my head, I knew it was all in vain. However I did give her a hug and kiss goodbye as she handed me a bag of soggy dried fruit and two foggy bagged granola bars.

There is one thing that I have learned during the check-in process at the airport: it would make things much easier and save a lot of trouble if you just came naked. Because can I just say that trying to balance on one foot, trying to zip up your boot, pushing your tubs down the line, with one arm in the sleeve of your coat, while trying not to reveal the butt crevasse, and clasping onto your passport, visa, and boarding passes like it was your life (well, it pretty much is), is not easy?! By the time I was done running around frantically, asking question after question, tripping over my luggage, striping for the security who I think has lost the ability to smile, I was in a right sweat!


First stop: Chicago. No relaxation here! After rushing to the bathroom to release my bursting bladder, we made the long trek to our next gate, got our boarding passes, and then found out my carry-on was too large to fit on the plane after trying to elbow and push It into the test slot until the airline lady told me that it wasn't going to fit. We then scarfed down our last meal in America, and you can't get much more American than with good ol' McDonald's! I used my last bit of time to then make calls to all of the fam and friends, and at the same time proving the fact that it is not difficult for me to have three chins when I hold the phone up against my shoulder.

So here I am! Somewhere over the Atlantic ocean with 2611 miles to go until I land in Frankfurt, Germany! I found this awesome station that plays the most relaxing music that i could imagine myself doing yoga to(I am so much like my mother), and just passed out using my jacket as a pillow and awoke with button marks on my face, and came to find that I missed my airline meal! Blast! Now I know its not a five star meal, and it didn’t look too grand either, but I have to admit as a lover of food, I was a little bummed to have missed that experience. It’s OK though, I here they are going to serve breakfast soon. What do Germans eat for breakfast? Hmmm….