Back in the USSA!
So yeah, here I am. Sitting in the living room of my sparely decorated house, eating a bowl of Cheerios. My plane got in to Des Moines last night at 6:30, twenty one hours and thirty minutes after I got into my taxi in Graz.
The traveling went pretty well, considering how far I had to go. No delays or missed connections, or even lost luggage. On the flight across the Atlantic I wasn't able to sleep, due the combination of daylight, crying babies, and loud talking Chicago women. In Chicago I had two and a half hours to get through customs, re-check my luggage and find the next gate, and by that time I was feeling pretty restless and tired of sitting. I also was beginning to re-acquiant myself with the curse of being able to overhear other people's conversations. In Austria, I had to try really hard if I wanted to know what the people sitting next to me were talking about. But when sitting next to Americans yesterday I was able to hear the complete breadth and (lack of) depth to everything being said. I truly did not WANT to know what brand of ginger ale the college student sitting near me preferred and how often she shaved her legs in the last week, but I found out anyway (Canada Dry and Zero, in case you were wondering).
Flying into Iowa was quite nice. The sun was going down, and as we decended towards Des Moines I could look out over the beautiful landscape, and even pick out some landmarks like Lake Red Rock. As I was walking through the Des Moines airport, I passed Tom Arnold hurrying towards a gate, followed by some woman. I wouldn't have even noticed him unless the woman following him hadn't said his name and complimented him on some speech he made. I recognized his nasally voice, and yes he sounds just as annoying in real life as he does on TV.
Jilly picked me up at the airport, and even wore her Austria shirt so I would be able to pick her out from the 12 other people in the waiting area. She's always thinking! We got some dinner at Court Ave Brewing, and then headed to Newton. I got 9 hours of sleep last night, and feel much refreshed from yesterday, but still a bit groggy. I'm not taking any naps, though. I want to get back into this time zone as soon as I can.
Everything seems familiar, but also strange. I remember where everything is, and the habits of cleaning, eating, and sleeping came back quickly. But it's still strange and I can't quite put my finger on what it is.
The traveling went pretty well, considering how far I had to go. No delays or missed connections, or even lost luggage. On the flight across the Atlantic I wasn't able to sleep, due the combination of daylight, crying babies, and loud talking Chicago women. In Chicago I had two and a half hours to get through customs, re-check my luggage and find the next gate, and by that time I was feeling pretty restless and tired of sitting. I also was beginning to re-acquiant myself with the curse of being able to overhear other people's conversations. In Austria, I had to try really hard if I wanted to know what the people sitting next to me were talking about. But when sitting next to Americans yesterday I was able to hear the complete breadth and (lack of) depth to everything being said. I truly did not WANT to know what brand of ginger ale the college student sitting near me preferred and how often she shaved her legs in the last week, but I found out anyway (Canada Dry and Zero, in case you were wondering).
Flying into Iowa was quite nice. The sun was going down, and as we decended towards Des Moines I could look out over the beautiful landscape, and even pick out some landmarks like Lake Red Rock. As I was walking through the Des Moines airport, I passed Tom Arnold hurrying towards a gate, followed by some woman. I wouldn't have even noticed him unless the woman following him hadn't said his name and complimented him on some speech he made. I recognized his nasally voice, and yes he sounds just as annoying in real life as he does on TV.
Jilly picked me up at the airport, and even wore her Austria shirt so I would be able to pick her out from the 12 other people in the waiting area. She's always thinking! We got some dinner at Court Ave Brewing, and then headed to Newton. I got 9 hours of sleep last night, and feel much refreshed from yesterday, but still a bit groggy. I'm not taking any naps, though. I want to get back into this time zone as soon as I can.
Everything seems familiar, but also strange. I remember where everything is, and the habits of cleaning, eating, and sleeping came back quickly. But it's still strange and I can't quite put my finger on what it is.
posted by ScottyB at
11:09 AM
6 Comments:
Welcome back to Iowa. You make me smile. So is your blog going to go the way of the dodo? Or do we have more riveting stories to look forward to?
By
Anonymous, at 07 July, 2006 11:26
Thanks Juan! I will be adding some pictures very soon from trips that I took whilst in Europe. I might have to take some from here and post them too. Tonight I have a welcome back party to attend, so I could get some snapshots.... hmmmmm.
By
ScottyB, at 07 July, 2006 15:08
And this makes me want to return sooooo much less than I want to now. I've been trying to pack for a week and all I've managed to do is move stuff and make a mess (not that I'm neat). Hope that you soon enjoy being able to eavesdrop, but not really.
And I can't believe you didn't say goodbye you chump. I still have your pen by the way. I haven't used it so all the ink is still there. Have fun in the square states and keep in touch.
By
Anonymous, at 13 July, 2006 15:24
You're still there?? I'm just a wee bit jealous... okay alot jealous. I'm really sorry I didn't get to say good-bye to you. My last few weeks there were crazy. Take good care of the pen, and if you're ever passing through the square state of Iowa give me a holler!
By
ScottyB, at 13 July, 2006 21:33
Mo I was there until the 14th and then I went to London (actually Oxford but it was horrible because the friend I was with was really mean) for 4 days when I really shouldn't have because the whole time I was like Graz is so much better. I left Oxford early and went to London and really just stayed in my hotel room. I miss Graz and my strange roomies and our alcoholic tendencies. :( I'm moving back. You can't complain about it when you aren't there.
By
Anonymous, at 02 August, 2006 22:50
Sorry to hear that Oxford was not what you had hoped. I only toured there for the day once 6 years ago, and loved the old colleges and buildings.
It's strange because right now Graz seems like a dream, and it makes me sad because it is an experience that I don't want to forget. But as soon as I got back to the US I had to jump right back into things and couldn't sit around reminiscing. Guess that's life.
By the way, I *might* have a small chance of returning to Graz next year. There will be an Intensive Program there and I told my professor that I really want to go. We'll see.....
By
ScottyB, at 03 August, 2006 08:13
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