February 19, 2018

Today is my first day in Vienna for my study abroad. I am a bit tired from my flights. Let me talk about my airport adventures first. I arrive in Pittsburgh airport and go to the United Airline check in counter to check in my bags and I find out that I needed to pay an extra $100 for my second suitcase. I had thought that this fee was already paid for as we discussed the two-bag policy with our travel agent. My mother was not happy but there was nothing we could do about it. My flight to Newark was a bit delayed. The plane started to move and then the captain came on and said that the air traffic controllers did not give him the ok to go. So we sat on the runway for 50 minutes, waiting. Eventually, we took off. The flight was only 44 minutes, the shortest flight I have ever been on. I exited the plane and headed to my next connecting flight.

            In Newark, one must take a terminal bus to get from terminal C (Where I landed) to terminal B. I asked some random worker how to get to that bus and he directed me right to it. I got on the bus and soon found my gate. I was surprised to see that my gate did not have seating. Everyone was just standing around. Within ten minutes of waiting, they started to board. I got in line and the man working scanned my boarding pass but the machine would just turn red and would not accept my boarding pass. He sent me to the “problem line” and told me to talk to one of the workers. I was behind about ten other people in this line. Now, this line was for people that did not have a seat on the plane. I became frustrated and began to worry because I had an assigned seat that I had picked out on this plane. They even closed the doors to the gate and said that they stopped boarding people. I thought that the plane was going to take off without me. Eventually, I made it up to the counter. The guy saw that I had an assigned seat and asked why I was sent to this line. I just said that they told me to come over here. He typed some things on his computer and then asked if I had a VISA. I just assumed that the airlines did not have my VISA information. I got the ok to board and made it onto the plane.

            I had reserved a seat on the plane that would have extra leg room. My seat was at a bulkhead in the middle. My seat was sort of in the aisle and there was not much leg room, only a bit more than the regular economy seats. I was disappointed. I could not stretch my legs all the way out. The guy sitting next to me was not friendly. He would always bump me and his reading light would be on when everyone else was trying to sleep. There was a Russian family behind me that was quite obnoxious and would not stop talking the entire flight. To get to the point, I did not sleep on my flight. The food was not my favorite. The snack was good: water and a pack of pretzels and crackers. The dinner options were Italian Pasta or Chicken. I have gotten airline Pasta before and almost puked after smelling it so I thought it would be safe if I went with the chicken. As soon as I opened the chicken, I closed it right back up. There was no way I was eating that. It looked disgusting. So for dinner, I had a roll, some pieces of lettuce, and this white chocolate mousse. Yummy. Breakfast soon came before landing. It was dark and the flight attendants handed me a large muffin. At first, it looked like a cinnamon muffin with large cinnamon chunks. I was wrong. It was a banana nut muffin. I just ate the bottom half because I do not like nuts. Finally, we landed and I left the plane.

            The first thing I did was go through passport control. I was afraid I was going to get interrogated but the only question that the guy asked me was if I was staying in Vienna. My bags were some of the first to come out. This usually never happens. I went through the exit and went to the check in counter to where I would find my ride to the apartment. I checked in and they gave me a folder that had my apartment key in it. A guy took me to his car and we headed towards my apartment. This guy was not friendly either. It was basically a 40 minute silent car ride. While leaving the airport, I was looking out the window and was quite surprised. Vienna looked very industrial. There were huge smoke stacks and large plants everywhere. I hoped that this was not what the city was going to look like. As we got further towards my apartment, the scenery began to change. All the buildings are so white and ornate. So far, Vienna is a very pretty city.

            I got to my apartment and went inside. My room is on the very top floor so I had to take the elevator to go up. I went into my apartment and found out that I have three other roommates. I was hoping for the apartment that just has one other roommate but oh well. My bedroom is much larger than I thought it would be. I have a dish box on my desk so that I can cook and there were sheets on my bed. I was a bit confused why there were no drawers to put my clothes. I had to use the shelves in my closet to put all my clothes. The kitchen is very small but the bathrooms are pretty nice. Because I am on the top floor, we have a nice balcony porch with a table outside. I was exhausted and just wanted to rest.

            A few hours later, I heard one of my roommates out in the kitchen so I went outsides to introduce myself. His name is Patrick and he is from Finland. He is extremely nice. He has been here since September and was willing to help me if I had any questions. As we were talking, my other roommate came through the door. He was extremely tall, much taller than me. His name is Vlad and he is from Belgium. He seemed like a nice guy. Patrick says that he never uses the kitchen and usually just keeps to himself. The other roommate is apparently from France and is currently away traveling in Germany.

            I did not want to leave my room, but I finally got enough courage to go to the grocery store. The grocery store Spar was only a three-minute walk. I got rolls, bananas, blueberries, chicken, and green tea. I was nervous and just wanted to leave so I did forget to buy eggs. I made the chicken for dinner. I needed to cook it longer. The chicken was so thick. Tomorrow, I will probably cut the chicken up. After I ate, I did some house keeping stuff and made sure I knew where to go for orientation tomorrow. I am excited to meet people tomorrow, explore the city a bit, and hopefully make some friends.