we made it!

as some of you may know, the trek across the pond was my 3rd trip on a plane... ever! (yes, we tend to drive everywhere). needless to say, I am completely clueless about knowing where to check in bags and what garments to take off for security purposes, etcetera. as soon as I send my carry-on luggage through the machine, the guy monitoring the screen asks if I have a laptop in my bag. I told him yes and that it may be a struggle to get it out. (obviously my bags were packed to the max.. my life for 6 months crammed into 3 bags). and of course I didn't take out any of my 3-1-1 liquids. I guarantee he didn't even want to try to open the suitcase where he would find that. I did warn him!

As we made our way down the terminal, I realized that Kristen and I were up for a workout as we hulled all that luggage around until we finally reached our destination- the very last gate possible. With the way us lower slowers walk you can imagine it took up a good bit of time!

maddi- you'll like this little sidenote: the first thing I notice as we enter our gate is an asian guy with a huge long, skinny backpack (i'm banking on a dooder) slung over his shoulders with a Canadian flag sewn on it. I instantly thought of you.  I didn't take any of Kelly Norton's advice and brought a North Face bag :)

the flight all in all was not that bad- thank goodness we left before the snowstorm hit up the mid-atlantic. (although I am jealous that HPU already had delayed classes due to an inch of snow!). It was fun listening to the accents of various people on the plane.. and we even got a huge dinner along with a little breakfast croissant this morning! there was slight turbulence but the sunrise this morning made up for it- it was beautiful! we were high above the plethora of clouds and we figured it might be the last time we saw the sun for a while.

anyway, we caught the train and met several other american students who will be studying here at Lancaster as well. the taxi dropped us off outside our "college" (dorm) residence, and here we are! Kris and I each have our own bedroom right around the corner from each other, which includes a sink and shelving/closet. it's a pretty good size too! a bit run down compared to High Point, but I'm not complaining. i can't wait to decorate the walls though! pictures will be up soon enough.