Delusional Day 1

My morning in Brooklyn was a blur.  From getting up and finishing "The Hunger Games" to having to make a last minute call to the bank, somehow I managed to get into my car and arrive at Newark Airport right at 2pm.  After several awkward "are you going to Geneva" glances with several people in line I made some final calls with friends and family before making the decision to take the plunge into the group room.  Talk about awkward situation--but I loved it!  Meeting and greeting people as they awkwardly apprehensively entered the room and turning small talk into conversation.  I met my roommate for the semester, Maggie, about an hour or so before we boarded and she seems so nice already!  Everyone eagerly left the room over an hour before departure--we were all so anxious to finally board the flight we had originally been scheduled to leave on 48 hours before!  All our seats were spread out but I ended up sitting next to a girl named Nancy who goes to BU.  We talked for a while before she passed out and I attempted some kind of sleep.  I tracked the flight on the monitor and was so excited as we flew directly over Cardiff, Paris, and finally began our approach into Geneva!  Literally my breath was taken away as came to land:  the Alps were right in front of us glimmering under their coat of snow and the lake glistened as we passed over it and approached the airport.  Going through customs was easy and we were greeted by Phil and Martha, our to RAs for the semester.  Both of them attended BU and had participated in the Physics and IR tracks respectively.  We were ushered onto these HUGE buses (how much more American could we get) which was quite a scene.  Pretty much every girl had at least 2 suitcases and some kind of stuffed to the brim "carry on" so navigating to the buses and eventually to our home was entertaining for locals I'm sure.  Maggie and I decided to get to unpacking as soon as we got up to our 3rd floor room.  Room 34L--home sweet home for the next 4 months!  We took a break for breakfast/housing tours and finished up before heading to Rue Vollandes, which is BU's headquarters and where my public health class will begin...TOMORROW!  The whole day was filled with activities targeted to keep us awake.  We purchased phones, went to the supermarket, and bought our month long bus passes.  By dinnertime we were all ready to pass out.  I, along with Steph, Lauren, and Maggie, had a simple dinner of bread and cheese (Mags got a little more adventurous and even made her own pasta!).  As some people planned on going out to celebrate the first night, we dwindled away to Steph and Lauren's room for some cards and bonding with Danny.  Our goal had been to stay awake until 9pm (12pm west coast time) which would have indicated the no sleep for close to 36 hours for most of us.  We made it until now, 10pm!!  However, before things get too loopy, I'm going to call it a night.  I am sure I will have much more to report in a more exciting manner once I am fully rested.  Geneva took my breath away at first glance and I know I still have not fully processed the fact that I get to call it home for this whole semester.

Geneva Bound at Last!

After Hurricane cancellations, limited sleep and major stress (more so on the part of my parents), I am finally about to take-off for Geneva!  Yesterday I had an early morning flight to Newark and stayed at my aunt and uncle's apartment in Brooklyn.  They unfortunately had business at Harvard so our paths didn't cross this NY visit.  I had a lazy evening:  eating delicious cioppino my uncle had prepared for dinner and watching Roman Holiday before passing out for the night.  This morning I have just been busy making sure I have everything all together and ready to go!  The car is picking me up at 1:15 and our flight isn't until 6...earliest I will have EVER been at an airport I think.  It is a group flight after all so they are just trying to herd us all together to make sure we all are on board.  Luckily, there is a lounge where all 32 of us can hang out, meet and greet, and have some snacks before our flight!  It is hard to grasp the fact that leaving for abroad is finally here!!  I don't feel like I'm old enough to be having these experiences but I guess growing up catches you off guard like that :)  Anyways, by this time tomorrow I will be settling in and busy with orientation in GENEVA!  Let the adventures begin...