Arrivederci, USA!

1.27.09
Finally the day of departure arrived! My bags were packed, and I was ready to go. Due to an impending threat of snow, my parents elected to leave a little earlier than we planned. Luckily, there were no problems; it was a clear and sunny, but still cold day. “Are you nervous?” If I had a dollar for everytime I heard that phrase, I would be able to stay in Italy indefinitely.  I didn’t really feel nervous, until people kept reminding me that there was plenty to be nervous about. On the morning of my departure, I found myself oddly nervous. So, I cranked the music and went to my happy place.



Let it be said that Facebook is a wonderful thing. When I met my travel companions at the airport, it was like meeting up with old friends, though many of us had only met once, and some not at all. It was funny to watch our parents make the slightly awkward, polite small-talk associated with new acquaintances, while we talked like old pals.

We said farewell to our parents at the gate (luckily with no tears!), and made our way through security. The only small snag through security was Emily’s pillow controversy. We made our way through the airport to concourse C, which is through this really cool underground hallway with pretty lights. Emily and I were so entranced by the display that we didn’t realize that we were so far ahead of the others.



Going into the flight, I had a clear game plan. Dinner, movie, Tylenol PM, SLEEP. The first part of my plan went off without a hitch. I ate my lasagna while watching Eagle Eye, and started to feel sleepy towards the end of the film. Approximately 30 minutes before the end of the film, I took my Tylenol PM so that I could drift off to sleep after the movie ended. Unfortunately, taking Tylenol PM does NOT make an airline seat any bigger or more comfortable. I just couldn’t sleep. After a while, I decided to try taking another Tylenol. STILL, nothing. All I could do was watch the little map on the screen in front of me and will the tiny cartoon airplane to move faster. Eventually, I entertained myself by watching another movie, and the end of the flight came much sooner than I thought.



Unfortunately, I and my travel companions were stuck in the middle section of seats throughout the flight. Of course, there was not much to see traveling over the Atlantic Ocean at night. However, when we finally reached Europe, it was an amazing view. The land below looked like it was lined with a spiderweb of rope lights. You know, the ones on the floor on the movie theater. To be honest, that was about the most exciting part of the flight. haha. :)

Luckily the flight went by fairly quickly and before I knew it we were in Frankfurt!