My morning started off with a 5 am run, which, being a teacher, isn’t an uncommon time for me to be running. I did my final load of laundry and we managed to make it out of the house by 7 am, but we knew we would because my dad’s fortune cookie the night before said he would meet his goal, and fortune cookies do two things: 1) become really inappropriate when the phrase “in bed” is added to the end. 2) Never lie (Right? Hmm, just me?). We arrived at the St. Louis airport and after a minor moment of panic that I might not be allowed entry into the country due to my visa not being quite what it was supposed to be, I was saying “goodbye” to my parents and approaching the security check as a crying mess which made the man in front of me extremely uncomfortable.
I got it together and enjoyed my cramped flight to Newark by listening to the Germans behind me comment on the St. Louis arch and the number of baseball fields that were visible. Baseball must truly be America’s past-time because I counted seven visible through my window and one time and I had just finished counting over 11 in the 60 seconds before that. The adventure continued in Newark when the air train didn’t actually stop at terminal B. So, I got to see the whole airport in addition to a lovely view of the New York skyline.
My flight to Brussels was aboard Jet Airways, and Indian airline that offered us hot towels, chapattis with dinner, and a wide selection of Hollywood and Bollywood movies. Much as I enjoyed the in flight extras, it arrived late causing me to miss my Bulgarian Air connection to Sofia. This where I met Kevin, another new international teacher. Our first European adventure took place in the Brussels airport as we were reassigned to Lufthansa airlines to Munich and then, finally, Sofia. My passport is now full of stamps from places I haven’t actually visited. I feel like I cheated.
I was picked up at the airport by Ani, a achool secretary, and Ivov, the school's driver. Kevin and I were extremely glad to see them. After dropping Kevin off at his apartment off campus, I finally arrived at the Pink House, my home for the next two years.
