Small Town Survival

The key to a good trip is in being prepared. It's reasonable to want to look nice when you travel but if it is going to be a long trip you should never compromise your comfort. Luckily for me I knew this already and while I didn't quite go in my pjs I did manage to wear something comfortable. Layers are always a good idea too because then if you get hot you can take something off and easily put it on again if you get cold. As for me, I wore two layers and a coat because I'm always cold when I fly.

I arrive early at the airport and found Erika easily and we waited and talked and waited some more for my mom. I was checked in and was lucky enough to get a window seat. Woohoo! (They're best for sleeping, especially for me because I rarely get up.) Lufthansa flights serve good food but aren't as nice as Northwest (if you want to watch movies during the flight that is). I digress. Erika and I spent a lot of time watching people and commenting on outfits, shoes and guys we thought were attractive. Or children and old ladies we thought were cute.

I managed not to cry when it was time for my mom to leave and again when Erika left, but it was hard and I came close. I suppose my need not to cry in public is what really saved me. When I borded the plane I fell asleep almost immediatly and woke up only to see that we were delayed an hour and then again for meals and drinks as they went by. I even got used to them asking me what I'd like in german. Mostly it made me want to take a german class again when I return to the states - although I'm not sure if I will or not.

Because of our delay in reaching Detroit, the flight didn't arrive in Frankfurt until after my flight to Copenhagen had already departed. I sort of entertained ideas that it would also be delayed as I wandered towards the assigned gate. Surprisingly enough the flight had not left and was actually delayed about two hours by the time we departed. I think the most sureal moment was when I looked over at this woman and noticed she was smoking! You can't do that, I wanted to say. But she indeed could so I kept my mouth shut and turned away from her questioning look.

What I forgot to mention was that I ran into Ashley and Kellen (the other two students from MSU) at the airport and we were all on the same flights. Once we arrived in Copenhagen it was a different story all together though. Ashley was taking a plane to Aarhus, Kellen was taking the bus and I was meeting Andreas and we were to take the train.

As so many of you have asked already, yes I was excited to see Andreas and we did get to spend two days together. Arriving to see someone familiar was perfect. Besides that I hadn't seen him in so long and I missed him, I would have been lost without him. Both on the map, what to do and well, it's not like I could have gotten my own luggage on and off the train and then on and off the bus. I really should thank him again for that.

So I left Monday night in Michigan and arrive on Tuesday afternoon in Aarhus. By the time I got here it was evening again and I was tired and a little stressed. We missed the bus stop because there's a weird little stop that is after the actual last stop. Weird. So we drug the luggage a little further and managed to find the right place. Afterwards Andreas and I went to the grocery store where I almost lost it. I really just wanted to curl up and be tired and instead I was forced to decide what I wanted to eat and look for it in another language that I couldn't understand. And it's not really all that bad, but it felt that way at the time and I was ready to cry and go home.

Instead we managed to buy some sauce, pasta, milk, bread and butter. I never ended up eating that night because by the time I got that far I was feeling sick. Instead we went to bed and I had the chance to wake up feeling really tired the next morning. I had hoped to sleep more but Mr. Jetlag didn't agree. Either way, I was glad to have made it through my first night in Denmark.