Hello everyone!
It has been too long since I wrote my last entry, because I have a lot to catch you up on. :P
In May and June I stayed in Bozeman to tutor and enjoy the scenery a bit longer. I'm really glad that I had the chance to stick around a bit more because I knew I would definitely miss it when I left. The tutoring business was really slow in May (ie, nonexistent), but it really picked up in June, allowing me to save some money for my year away.
On July 1st I moved home to Billings to spend my last month in the US with my mom and other friends/family. It went by extremely fast...we went on a few small trips, ran errands, hung around a bit, and suddenly it was the my last week. I got my mom an adorable kitty named Meow-Meow, and she is unbelievably sweet!! I wish I could have taken her all for myself...hehehe.
Before leaving I also had a chance to meet some new family on my dad's side. They are all such great people and I feel so lucky! My aunt Helen and her husband Joseph gave me a sapphire ring to remind me of them while I'm away. It was really sweet.
My mom and I took one last trip together (Meow Meow in tow) before I left in one big circle: Thermopolis, Meteetsee, Cody, Yellowstone, West Yellowstone, Ennis, Virginia City, Townsend for the rodeo, then back to Billings. We had a pretty good time.
On August 1st, my family and I had one last going-away party in Columbus at the 307. It was nice to see them once again before leaving for a whole year. Afterward, we rushed back to Billings so that I could set up video chat on the computer, buy some last minute items, run a few last minute errands, and PACK! I was up until 2am.
My mom and I met my aunt Sandra at the airport around 9 in the morning, since my flight to Denver was supposed to leave at 10:19. However, we found out that this flight was CANCELLED. They tried to get me on another flight at 12:30, but it was full...the soonest was a flight at 3:00 that was running 3 hours late. Needless to say, I was in a state of panic, because it takes an hour and 40 minutes to get to Denver, and my flight to London left at 8:15. This left approximately 20 minutes for me to get off the plane, get my boarding pass, and board the other. Yeahhh...
It was nice to have some extra time together though.
My two rolling suitcases that I checked were going straight to London, so I didn't have to worry about those...until later. I made it to my gate in Denver just in the nick of time. Phew.. Onward to London. I sat next to a really sweet Danish girl on the airplane, and we hit it off right away. We talked and played games until we fell asleep and landed. We went through security together, and asked someone about our luggage. A woman told us that mine would be transfered directly to the plane to Berlin, and I didn't have to worry about it yet. We ate lunch and parted ways.
The flight to Berlin went fine except for the SCREAMING BABY right behind me. Ughh..so much for sleeping. We made it there on time, and Nicole and her dad were waiting for me right where I could see them. Perfect. Now for the luggage. I stood there and waited....and waited...and waited. Soon I was the last person there, and no more luggage came out. It was lost...every traveler's nightmare. We had to go file a report, and this was my first German-speaking challenge. Luckily the man and I could make out what each other was saying, and now I just have to wait.
That night I slept for 13 hours. I think I'm used to their time now. We have been having a pretty good time, and I'm trying really hard to speak in German. I know that I totally sound like Borat to them and they probably think I'm "slow" or something, hahaha. Oh well! So far, I haven't had much trouble understanding what they are saying. We have eaten out a few times, driven around their "village", checked out their schools, gone shopping, and horse riding. So far, so gut.
If only the luggage would get here..!
