Hi everyone....I realize that most of you are sleeping as I type this. I am seven hours ahead of Arkansas time (CST), so I have already showered and ate breakfast this morning. I have this morning all to myself, so I thought I would catch you up on my adventures.
First, let me give kudos to all the folks who spend the day unpacking and doing laundry, only to turn around and pack a suitcase again the next day. That is one crazy life! I could probably not do it repeatedly like some of you!
My bags were packed and I was ready to go on my departure morning. I told Kale I was going to work and spending several nights there. I didn't dare tell him I would be getting on an airplane, because he wouldn't understand why he couldn't join me. I said my goodbyes and Ep drove me to the airport. The more I fly out of Little Rock, the more common it becomes to get delayed flying out of Little Rock. We were loaded in the plane and out on the tarmac when the captain informed us that Atlanta had a ground delay (too much ground traffic) and we needed to wait 20 mintues. As we approached ATL, he flew us in S-curves to put more distance between us and some other air traffic. Fun times!
In the airport, we made last minute phone calls and ate a late lunch. We then went to our assigned gate. 15 minutes before we were scheduled to take off, we wondered where everyone was. I went to check the departure board...and they had changed our gate! Thank you so much for informing us Delta! 45 minutes ago, that same board said gate 27E...and now it said 5E...without any notification being posted at 27E...lovely. We fast walked....quickly. We made it. I got to my seat and after quite an ordeal with a drunk lady who had her entire right leg in a straight splint, she got to keep my seat and her seat while I went to sit in the bulkhead row with extra legroom. SCORE!!!!! The flight attendant kept thanking me for being willing to move. He even gave me a little first class toiletry kit. Seriously, I would have begged to sit there....so I was quite happy to oblige them. (thank you God!)
We arrived in Zurich and quickly made it to our next gate because they still needed to ticket us there. We waited. They boarded the entire plane and then started worrying about passengers that had reservations but no boarding pass. Colossal FAIL Czech Air!!!! We finally got on our next plane to Prague, where we quickly deplaned and hurried to catch our flight to Kosice. We got there. Tired, but there we were. We ate lunch and then rode two hours to Kezmorak, which is where we are now.
The hotel here is nice, but they don't clean your room or give you new towels everyday. Actually, this is fine with me. I would rather them not be in my room when I am overseas. So far, our meals have been fine and its always good when the place has at least one menu in English. I ate piroghey yesterday. Its the same as gnochi, which is a dumpling filled with potato. My piroghey was served with bacon pieces on top and sour cream to eat with it. I am cheating at the moment...I am drinking the occassional sprite or coke because I get tired of water and asking for sweat tea here is pretty much just plain stupid. My breakfast this morning included cereal....dry cereal like the kind to which you add milk...but they warm the milk...so I had cereal with heated milk....different. I also had bread, yogurt, and apple juice.
My internet connection has allowed me to talk to Ep daily and my mom as well. I can also chat with them over Skype. I tried to talk to Kale, but he was a little intimidated by the headphones he has to wear to hear me. I could hear him though. Hello homesickness! I miss all of them, but I ache for him. It kills me that he doesn't understand. They keep telling him that I am at work and the morning after I left, he asked if they could come see me at work. God bless him. He loves and misses his momma. I bet he is mad at me by the time I finally come home.
We worked all day yesterday....but I finished everything I needed to do in the office here. So, today is a free day. Later, I will join the my co-workers for lunch and then we will go to Poprad for some shopping and probably dinner. Tomorrow, we return to Kosice. I hope next week is as easy and fast moving as this time so far has been. However, with so many others joining us, I doubt it will move as fast. The good news is that I am the note-taker during the meeting, so I can keep my computer open all the time...so I am hoping that we have internet connection in the meeting room.
Before I go, let me tell you about Kezmorak. I have been here before, so I was prepared for its small size and quaint atmosphere. There are about 17000 people here. Everyone seems to know everyone. The shops close by 5pm daily. Some streets are brick. Most people just walk to their destination. There is a town center building that resembles a church. I think it is a former church because it has bells...they ring at least 3 times an hour. I know this because I am less than 100 yards from them. When I have my window open and am on Skype talking to Ep, he can hear them ringing. I like bells, just not at 2am! Most people here eat out for lunch during the week, but eat dinner at home every night. When we eate dinner, we are usually joined by only a couple of other patrons. Thursday night, we were the only patrons in the entire place. The food has been good so far. My room is comfortable and I have managed not to spray my entire bathroom with the hand held shower (yet). If Ep were here with me, he would have to either squat or just get the bathroom wet when washing his head. My bed is comfortable enough that I slept 11 hours last night. Yes, really. That is the longest I have slept in....well....I don't know how long. I took an ambien to start, but that only lasts me 8 hours....the rest was on my own! I only got up because I had told the hotel staff I would arrive for breakfast at 8:30am. We have to tell them each morning what time we will come down for food the next morning. Apparently we were the only guests last night because our food was served to us on our table instea of on the buffet this morning.
Ok...I think its time to go do a little exploring on my own. A walk will do me good. I don't need to hang out in my room all morning! Later everyone!
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