Day 1: The Beginning

Well here I am. Sitting on a super trendy couch in my super trendy hostel in the super trendy city of Krakow. I feel so cool and independent, like a european Annie Hall; it almost makes me forget that I'm the first of my Learning Enterprises group to arrive, and am therefore without friends until tonight...unless I make friends with the British dude sitting across the room from me now (special shout out: thank you trendy British man for your wifi password knowledge).

Anyway, while I wait for my hostel room to become available, let me tell you a bit about my Poland adventure thus far.

I almost missed my flight this morning. Turns out, the D.C. traffic god had it in for me today. Not only did we come across the usual traffic torture that comes with being in the D.C. area, but also multiple construction sites where some genius thought it would be a great idea to cut off an entire lane of traffic during the lunch rush hour (I can only assume whoever made this call recently got out of a relationship and is trying to get back at their ex by making them late for their super important business lunch OR enjoys making young, wide-eyed travelers such as myself late for their planes).

***BREAKING NEWS: Just had a lovely conversation with British dude. Unfortunately, our friendship was very short lived since he just checked out of the hostel. Or maybe he just gets easily annoyed by overly bubbly American girls attempting to be trendy by sporting thick glasses and a beanie.***

Back to the "I-almost-missed-my-flight" story. When we finally arrived at the airport, I had to check in, deal with the fact that apparently I didn't have a specific seat booked, rush to security, wait in a ridiculously long line, get on a train to my gate, and then bolt to my flight. It was one of those times where you wish you could just make an 80's montage of your life and cut time in half. They should make an app for that.

By the time I got on the actual flight, I was a mess. I was half expecting the flight attendants to ask, "Can I get you a moist towel-let...or a shower..." When I arrived at my seat, immediately I noticed that the guy sitting next to me could have been a miniature Kanye West, and was immediately intimidated by his coolness, which meant a choice: either I could sit down in all my gross glory and just try to play it off as "sexy girly sweat" (you know, the kind of sweating a girl does when she's doing stretch-yoga or some other adorable exercise that requires very little sweating), OR I could whip out my deodorant like a total dope and engage in the awkward positioning of my arms so that they don't hit his Kanye face. I chose the latter, and for the rest of the flight, my awkwardness did not fail to uphold this initial first impression. For example, the in-flight entertainment included an episode of "Sex & the City." Having ovaries, I immediately clicked on it and began watching a very explicit episode about Samantha fulfilling her fireman fantasy. A scene popped up with Samantha and the fireman "doing the dirty" bare ass naked against a fire truck, when all of the sudden the flight attendant decided to make an announcement. This PAUSED the scene on the fireman's exposed rear, and for the full FIVE MINUTES that the flight attendant was talking, there was man-ass on the screen in front of my chair. Needless to say, I was mortified, and the guy next to me did not seem happy he had to stare at a fireman's derrière for five minutes. 

Other awkward and typical Julie moments included me whacking the other guy next to me with my seat belt by accident, attempting to open a package of cheese for ten minutes, and then having a full blown meltdown in the middle of the German airport regarding my bank account (no wonder the German's think American's are nuts...sorry for upholding that stereotype ya'll). 

Despite how lame I am, my hostel is quite the opposite. It's decorated with street art murals, political and flag wall-art, and is constantly blasting trendy European music. By the time I arrived at my hostel, I basically just decided to embrace my awkwardness and came to realize that it was all part of the experience. In an area teaming with euro-trip backpackers from all over, all a girl can do is be herself. 

Until next time<3
JBro

***Quote of the day: "Don't be afraid of your fears. They're not there to scare you. They're there to let you know something is worth it." - C. JoyBell C. (courtesy of Aquaman). 

***Theme song of the day: "Kill Your Heroes" by Awolnation