Saturday, January 17th started with one of my most regular activities during the 2014-2015 winter break, by watching an episode of Veronica Mars. Yes, I watched 2.5 seasons of Veronica Mars in 3.5 weeks. Anyways, after some last minute packing we climbed into the car to drive to JFK. I made some final phone calls, collected some snacks, gave big hugs to mom and dad (actually delayed going through security at the airport to chat for just a little longer about Veronica Mars with dad) and the next thing I knew, Alison and I were sitting in the terminal ready to board!
As soon as we were on the airplane, all we wanted was food of course! We impatiently waited for our airplane dinner as the plane. After we were full, we were already exhausted. Alison fell asleep while I watched the movie version of Jersey Boys. (We had an empty seat next to me, which made it a comfy ride). After the movie, I fell asleep and woke up just in time for “breakfast”. Yes, I quotes because although it was breakfast food, and after dinner, it was served at 11:30 EST. But there was food, so we ate it. We arrived in London and changed planes. I once again fell asleep on the airplane (possible before even taking off). I was awaken by breakfast, yet again. But I spent the rest of the flight looking out of the windows in awe! We were flying above the clouds and I look out of the window (of course without glasses or contacts) and see these dark spots, which I thought was just water.
As soon as we were on the airplane, all we wanted was food of course! We impatiently waited for our airplane dinner as the plane. After we were full, we were already exhausted. Alison fell asleep while I watched the movie version of Jersey Boys. (We had an empty seat next to me, which made it a comfy ride). After the movie, I fell asleep and woke up just in time for “breakfast”. Yes, I quotes because although it was breakfast food, and after dinner, it was served at 11:30 EST. But there was food, so we ate it. We arrived in London and changed planes. I once again fell asleep on the airplane (possible before even taking off). I was awaken by breakfast, yet again. But I spent the rest of the flight looking out of the windows in awe! We were flying above the clouds and I look out of the window (of course without glasses or contacts) and see these dark spots, which I thought was just water.
When I decided that I actually wanted to see the world, I put on my classes and was surprised to notice that they were mountain tops, peaking over the clouds! It was a fantastic view. The mountains were beautiful and they were such a contrast to the clouds. I had never seen such a sight. We then flew over Budapest. First you could see the suburban and residential areas, with all of the houses. Then we went over the city center, which has a river going directly through it. From the plane, I could see the bridges, the squares and the buildings. We landed in Budapest and made our way through customs. One of Alison’s comments to me while in the customs line was “I guess we are in Europe”, commenting about the couple casually making-out next to us. Our passports were stamped and we gathered our luggage. As we walked out of baggage claim area, we were instantly met with big hugs by Bettina and her parents.
For those of you who don’t know who Bettina is, I met Bettina in the fifth grade when she and her parents moved to America from Hungary. Bettina actually told me the story of how we met. She was in my class, and on her first day (in a country where she barely understood any words in the language) we lined up to go to the library. She was terribly confused as to what was going on, and I helped her get in line and showed her the way. After that meeting Bettina and I became great friends. We played in the playground and were in class together. I took her to museums and had her over to my house. We ate pasta-and-cheese and many classically American dishes. In the sixth grade, Bettina and her family moved back to Hungary. We tried very hard to stay in contact. We would Skype (which my parents claim was very cute), but it became very difficult because there was a six hour time difference. We lost touch for a few years, until one day I got a Facebook request from Szabados Bettina! Since then, every six or so months we would catch up, and talk about what is going on in our lives. Everything stayed like this until August 2014 when I suggested visiting her for a week, which brought us to the moment in the airport when I saw Bettina for the first time – in person – in about ten years.
While abroad I will be writing two blogs, one about my travels, adventures and new experiences. This is where I will talk about everything with living and being a student in Leuven, as well as any travel and trips that I go on throughout the semester. The second blog will be academically focused on the class I will be helping develop. This will keep track of my contributions and reactions to helping revolutionize engineering education and bring Olin’s teaching methods to Leuven, Belgium.
And the adventure begins!
While abroad I will be writing two blogs, one about my travels, adventures and new experiences. This is where I will talk about everything with living and being a student in Leuven, as well as any travel and trips that I go on throughout the semester. The second blog will be academically focused on the class I will be helping develop. This will keep track of my contributions and reactions to helping revolutionize engineering education and bring Olin’s teaching methods to Leuven, Belgium.
And the adventure begins!