First official day of the semester: MY ARRIVAL IN BUDAPEST

As I write to you, I am currently writing on my bed, in a new room, in a new dorm, in a new city and country--BUDAPEST, HUNGARY!  I can't even describe how ecstatic I am.  After the sleepless hours of a day long travel I am now fed, showered, and just about to be rested.

We flew from Grand Rapids to Detroit, from Detroit to Amsterdam overnight, and then from Amsterdam to Budapest.  The long trip went without any major mishaps, however we did have one minor wrinkle in Amsterdam.  One of the guys on our trip had packed all of his rock climbing gear in his carry on, (I know what you're thinking, and I agree. I might be in for a more extreme semester than I thought! Seriously!? Rock climbing gear in a carry on?  Pshh and I think its extreme when I remember to pack snacks! Kidding...almost) and for some reason the Dutch security people thought he would hang someone with the rope or punch them with his carabiners...I'm not sure.  So he had to check the carry on and go through security AGAIN.  We were scared this would end badly, but an hour later we had our whole group in tow and boarding the flight to Budapest.

Side note: On a 90 degree August day, with no air conditioning (at least insufficient) Amsterdam decided to change our gate three times.  I was sweating on TOP of only having one hour of sleep. I needn't say more, but that was more of a wrinkle to me than extreme rock climber's carry on.

Some of the group after we FINALLY landed in Budapest.

After we arrived in Budapest, we all climbed aboard an airport shuttle that drove us to our dorm.  The drive didn't go through the city, so we didn't get that much of a taste of Budapest today.

snapshot of our shuttle bus

We are living in the southern part of Budapest on the Buda side where it is mostly residential. The dorm is decent, much more than I expected! I'm sharing a pod room with 7 other girls so it should be really fun!  We're all determined to decorate it, and I can't wait!

After we lugged in our bags, we unpacked a little and then went out to eat at the closest restaurant.  Honestly, I was too tired and delirious to even notice the name or care about taking pictures.  I actually fell asleep at the table after we had eaten, 24 hours without sleeping just isn't my thing. :)

Here is a little taste of our room.  It's decent. I can post more pictures later.

Tomorrow we are going through dorm orientation and settling into our living space a little more.  After that, we get to go shopping and exploring!  Everyone is exhausted but anxious with the excitement of getting to live here!