The Voyage Begins

May 29, 2009

I had already travelled for twenty four hours, and would still be awake for many more once I got to Gvozd. The flight from O'Hare to JFK to Munich was 7.5 hours... I thought it would go by so slow, but it actually went by relatively fast (thanks to the huge selection of movies, plus my love of traveling, and my lack of unease while traveling by plane. I was thoroughly enjoying myself, to say the least.)

Going through security at JFK (I got yelled at for taking this pictures, oops!)


We travelled in a huge group from JFK to Munich. I met Jamie, who is my friend from Philly, before checking in at the airport. Then we met the entire group at the terminal which included our group, who were going to Gvozd, and another group that was going to work in Kutjevo with bears.

So here we were, a giant group of college students on our way to Croatia!

The plane was really nice - a small TV monitor dropped down from the ceiling and showed where we were on the map in real time. Once we started to go over the Atlantic, I decided it was time to take a nap. So after we ate our delicious meals (sort of..) served by the cutest German flight attendants, it was time to pop some Tylenol PM, put the earplugs in, and pass out. Too bad my arms started going numb and woke me up within 20 minutes of not moving (which, in my opinion, is almost as fun as waking up because of a charlie horse the morning of my flight.) So, we land as expected, but have to wait in Munich for a couple hours. My day started at 4:45 a.m. with last minute packing, shower, pictures with mom, dad, and John, then driving to the airport. At this point, it's 2:30 a.m. (Saturday) at home.

Munich's airport was really cool and very modern, with lots of cute shops and cafés. Our terminal was very quiet and almost eerily quiet; It seemed like we were the only people there, besides the employees. Sleepiness settled in for most of us once we found our gate and some seats. There was some small talk, while we all tried to keep our eyes open, and some of the others played cards.





The flight from Munich to Zagreb was short and sweet. I swear Gene Reno was on our plane (or at least his doppelgänger). The flight attendant was adorable - German accents make anyone look good :) The flight was a little rough because of the smaller plane, but not too frightening (while the man next to me is tracing the cross across his body).

Finally, we land in Zagreb.


So we go through customs, and wait for our bags. While I'm taking my surroundings in, I realize that Eastern European people DO have square heads! It's true! Ha ha! I was worried that my bags weren't going to show up, because I had them transferred between three different flights. I was crossing my fingers the entire time, and I was SO happy when I saw my green backpack come out on the conveyor.

After everyone grabbed their bags and we counted heads, we climbed onto our bus that took us to Gvozd. From Zagreb, it's about a two hour drive south. Once we got on the bus, everyone except me passed out. I was exhausted, but I didn't want to miss a minute of taking in Croatia. It was cloudy and drizzling a little bit on our way, but I could still see the rolling hills in the distance and terra cotta roofs dotted the countryside.

I was surprised by the destruction of the homes and other buildings from the last war. Many houses were completely collapsed, others had holes in their roofs, and some had holes in the side of the walls. It was definitely something my mind had to process - especially being from the Chicago suburb area. I had never seen anything like this, never had to think about my home being bombed. However, Croatia isn't defined by the horrific events that happened 15 years prior - it lives through the people and the culture.

So here I am, one day later, and I'm standing in Gvozd, Croatia, taking in the hot sun.