My grandma had given me a zong, rice wrapped in a banana leaf. I hope it makes it through customs (fingers crossed), this my one and only worry for the day.
I zipped the last of my bags, looking around at my clean and empty room, it finally hit that I am really leaving today. I don't feel jitters, and its all really surreal. 5:30 hit and as I'm scrambling to update my ipod one last time before I leave, I start to feel excited that this is really happening.
Dropped off at terminal E, I can see families from other DIS students gathered at the terminal. Mine just dropped me off. =] I couldn't see my airline and walked in the wrong direction quite a bit before I realized it was on the other side. Sarah recognized me by the Posse hat I had hanging from my bag. Apparently I was already checked in and my boarding pass printed. Apparently Sarah and I are now best friends with the Iceland Air checker. It was the most amusing check in I've ever experienced.
Once we got through security, which was much simpler than expected, we met with another girl going to DIS. Not realizing how people were actually on our flight going to DIS, while boarding the plane, it seemed as if everyone was in the same study abroad program.
My cousin had told me that there was another Posse Scholar studying in Denmark as well. Little did I know, she was on the same flight and doing the same program as Sarah. What a small world.
I didn't get much sleep on the flight and the time difference here is 6 hours ahead. What makes me mad though is that I realized during the flight, that when I was going to and leaving Japan, I never thought to recline the chair to make the seat more comfortable. Those were 13 and 16 hour flights. I am fuming at the thought. Anyway, we had a connecting flight through Iceland, and actually, I would quite like to visit there for a bit. Here are some photos of my view from the plane. I was captivated by the different textures that the clouds made mixed with the different colors the sky was giving off during different times of the day. We got to see the sun rise, but unfortunately I couldn't get any night shots even though the view was amazing.
If you look closely, those white specks are not all clouds, but snow covered mountain tops. It was mesmerizing to look at the different patterns that the wind blew the snow in.
We got to Denmark and there are more English signs than expected. I was relieved to hear English words being spoken. We picked up our bags with no problems and went for the exit. The whole time I was thinking in my head, why haven't we gone through customs yet. Apparently it must have been the security check we went through at Iceland because we just got our bags and left. It is nothing at all like America. Needless to say, the zong made it through. I was a happy camper. We walked through the gates and it was amazing to see people waiting with signs and a big group congregating around the DIS sign. At this point, I just want to get to the dorm and sleep for a bit. Little did I know that the whole day was scheduled and I barely had time to even unload. My room is amazing though. It's large and looks like it was made as a handicap space. There is a large window facing a flat yard and highway. Everything's under construction though, my thought is that when everything is done, it will be amazing. The room came with bedding, pillow, sheets, and two towels. Some cleaning supplies and furniture left by the last resident. I did some re-arranging and this is what I came up with.
The window blinds are covering the large window that is split into two sections, top and bottom.
After we got our keys and made our beds, we went for a small tour of the area. It's about 15 minutes to the train and supermarket. We bought some food and supplies, and let me tell you, it was an experience. I couldn't read a single word, and only thoughts of conversion prices were going through my head. I didn't know where to find what and all in all, was completely lost. I think I'll be eating pasta and rice for a while until I get used to this. I have to make all of my meals everyday. This semester should be interesting.
I'm pretty much settled in now and ready to get ready for 3 days of orientation starting tomorrow morning. Thank goodness I have the afternoon session, I can get some precious sleep in.
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