(This is going to be a long post. I wrote down some stuff in my notebook so I could remember. And here it goes)
We are stuck at Atlanta airport and I’m cold, dissapointed, chocked and so tired.
Okey, here’s what happend from the beggining.
I woke up Saturday morning at 3.15 since a group of people was yelling outside the house.
I heard someone walking beside the house and my first thought was:
“They are trying to steal our bikes or something.”
Well, that was not the case.
A guy I know that came back from his exchange year this summer and his friends had been partying and apparently, someone that I had invited to my Farewell- dinner had told them that I had a PARTY so they asked when it ended because they thought it would be fun to join.
But I just told them that my alarm-clock is going off in 30 minutes and they really have to go home.
So, that was a good start on my journey.
After that, I couldn’t sleep. Chocker huh?
So I went up, had breakfast, fixed the last things with my luggage and took the gifts I got from my friends. My mom and dad couldn’t stop taking pictures of me so I’m sure that I will post some of them when I’m in my red ‘High School Exchange’ t-shirt, shorts and with that huge yellow backpack and the big suitcase.
We talked all the way to the airport and laughed and I was so excited that I didn’t want to cry. I had an adventure lying at my feet and all I had to do was to jump on some airplanes. It actually was pretty weird. We checked my luggage and then went to where all of the exchange students were meeting up and then they just said:
“Well, we should go on then.”
And I was so chocked, of course I could’ve cried if I had let myself but I wouldn’t.
I just repeated the same sentence over and over:
“Now we wont cry, just be happy.”
And my parent were so strong ’cause they knew that if they cried, I would almost have a breakdown so they were really supportive and strong.
We got on the plane to London and I slept for a while there.
Maybe 1 hour or something.
When we got to the airport in London we met up with exchange students from Italy, Stockholm, Germany, Denmark, Finland etc.
I got to meet some old friends that I got to know at a camp we had with our exchange-organisation. And a lot of people that I’ve been talking to on Facebook.
Then, I didn’t feel alone in the same way since everyone where going through the same thing and knew how I felt.
After boarding the plane that had the destination Chicago, I got to sit with a guy from Stockholm and we just talked and talked and laughed and slept for like a half hour on the trip that was 8 hours!! Ridiculous. But we had fun though. He played American Football in Sweden and of course, he was going to play in the US too.
Anyway, we got to the airport in Chicago and everyone got their luggage and then we had to go through the customs and check our passports and paper from the American Embassy. I was kind of nervous, I’m thinking like: “Please let me in your country!”.
And the police officer was not very nice. He asked me questions of what I was going to do and where I was going so I said: “Nixa, Missouri.”
And he answered: “Why would you want to go there?”
Me: “Well, I got a family there so I didn’t pick for myself but it seems very nice.”
He: “Okey, you keep telling yourself that.”
I mean, come on! I’m already nervous as it is so.. haha.
Then they just said which terminal we were going to and when we got there (by train) we didn’t have a clue what was going on but after asking a few people we understood.
Then we had to go through security and stuff so it was just me and a guy named David that were also going to Springfield. Since our flight left at 17 and the clock were 16 something, we got a little stressed out.
After boarding our plane that was going to Atlanta, they said that it would take 35 minutes to know if we could departure because of thunderstorms, YAY!
And after 35 minutes they said that it was going to take 90 minutes MORE….
So, we lost our connection-flight that were going to take us to Springfield.
Therefore, we had to spend the night at Atlanta airport which is, if I got the right memo, the biggest airport in the world. Wohooooo!
We weren’t accepted at Dusty’s Den(a recess room for minors) since we were over 18 and considered as adults. So THEN I started to cry because of my lack of sleep and we got a blanket and a tiny bag with toothbrush and other small things.
Etc etc… We went to our gate and I don’t know how many escalators and train rides we took that night but I’m glad that the fact that we were so tired made us unable to stop laughing. And I’m so glad for not being alone there.
So, it was hard to sleep and I fixed some new tickets for a flight at 10.15 am, 12 hours later. And all we had to do was wait.
One time when I went to the bathroom, someone stole my blanket and then I was furious.
Because the Air conditioner made the place ICE COLD. So I was not that warm if you could say that.
Since I woke up at Friday morning I had gotten about 6-7 hours of sleep and been awake for like 50 hours. Can you imagine how tired I was?
But, when we were at the airplane in chicago I got to borrow a mobile phone from one of the stewards so I called my host-family and told them that we were delayed.
So since my phone was dead I couldn’t reach mom, dad, my host-parents OR mycontact-person in Missouri when we got to Atlanta. GREAT! But we got connected to facebook on a stationed pay-PC and got a hold of our contact so she could reach everyone for us since we couldn’t figure out the pay-phones.
I tried to sleep in the uncomfortable chairs all curled up and holding my backpack like my life depended on it.
Anywho. We got to Springfield and there they were waiting for us.
My host-parents are really cute and friendly and I already feel at home.
I have a bedroom in the basement with my own bathroom and walk-in closet and a TV etc. I love it! They also have a yorkshire-terrier named Pebbles, so cute!
Well, that was my journey to Nixa, Missouri and maybe I’ll come up with something more later on and I have so much more to write so I have to take a shower now and then I’ll see what my family have planned for the day.
