Ali in Romania: Hello from Various spots across the world!

Hey Everyone!

We Flew FinnAir!

As I am writing this, we are flying over the Gulf of Finland on our way to Budapest! But of course you won’t actually be reading this until we get settled in Oradea. What an exciting trip this has already been.

It started with a bean bag. Yes, a bean bag. Like the ones that were really popular back in the day. This bean bag is what the 3 on my team, Addie, Tiffany, and myself traveled on to JFK. I’m pretty sure we all have bruises to show for it, too!

Here we are! Addie, me, and Tiffany.

We all met at 8, pulled out around 8:15, stopped to eat in New York, made it to JFK just in time to get through security and make it to our flight which was already boarding. Of course, we had the usual wait on the plane for actual takeoff, but alas. That is to be expected. The flight from JFK to Helsinki was about 8 hours give or take.

Well, friends, it’s raining in Budapest. (Yes, Bre, I know that sounds like an Indie band song title.)

Hello, Budapest!

The Flags outside the airport

Now I know what you might be thinking. I thought you were just typing from over the Gulf. Well, I was. But then I started to get a migraine, so I had to put this aside and get some sleep. This, dear blog readers, is why one should not be addicted to caffeine. Thankfully the headache went away so here I am again!

All of our luggage made it through, and we are now on the bus that will take us the 3 hours to Oradea, Romania! What a better time to update, then when I can’t really do much else, and I have the scenery to inspire me!

I guess I’ll start by catching up to where I was before. The flight to Helsinki was about 8 hours, and there were no problems of any kind. The food was the best I’ve had so far for an airplane, so that was a pleasant surprise. I wish I had some pictures, but the flights we were on I didn’t have a window seat, and we weren’t allowed to take pictures on take0ff and landing. Which I’ve never had before. But alas.

I didn’t have to use the bathroom that much, which is good, because flushing airplane toilets really scares me. It sounds like you’re gonna get sucked out! For those of you who have flown, you know what I’m talking about. For those who haven’t, just trust me. It’s scary.

I also learned why there is a height requirement for flight attendants. Cause I totally couldn’t reach my carryon in the over-head compartment. I had to have help putting it up and getting it down. Short people problems.

We also made our connecting flight with ease, and didn’t have to wait long til we were in the air again. Helsinki to Budapest was about2 hours and 30 minutes or so. As I said, all our baggage made it through, THANK THE LORD! And now we are headed to our final destination. Most of us haven’t slept at all, which is quite difficult. It’s a little after 11 here, probably about 11:30 or so, a.m. For those of you at home, it’s 5:43 a.m. our time. We’ll have a little bit more of a time difference as we travel across the border, and end up a 7 hour difference, as I’ve said before.

Why, yes, that is snow on the tarmac of Helsinki. It was only about 27^o F there. It’s not much warmere here in Budapest, either. So far, the countryside just looks like Pennsylvania farm lands.

I’m so used to traveling to tropical climates, that it’s weird not to see palm trees, or rice paddies, and to be wearing a fleece jacket and scarf!

Make sure you stayed tuned every day to my blog. I won’t always be able to post on facebook when there’s a new entry. We are going to be doing some exciting stuff…but I won’t tell you ahead of time, cause that would ruin the fun of you reading it!

As for books to bring, I decided on the following:

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkein

We have a lot of traveling to do, so I wasn’t sure how much reading I would do. And sometimes it’s good to just have a book you don’t really need to focus on for things like noisy trains, or to help you sleep at night. So there you have it! That’s what I’ll be reading over the next few weeks!

Well, With that being said I’m gonna sign off, and just enjoy the scenery and maybe do some reading.

It was rainy and cloudy most of the bus ride, But I thought the clouds looked cool, so I grabbed a few pictures!

In Praise to the One who is above all others,

Ali [in Budapest]

Just kidding. I’m back. We are now all checked in and getting settled in Oradea at Hotel Melody. This hotel is adorable. Eventually I will post a picture of the outside, but it’s raining currently, so now would not be a good time. We’re all taking turns showering and just resting up.

We’ve had over 24 hours straight of traveling. Makes one a little weary. I was able to sleep a little in the van, thanks Dramamine, but all in all I haven’t slept more than 2 or 3 hours. Which is to be expected on trips like this, so no big deal.

We made it through the Hungary/Romania border checkpoint with no problem.