Hopping the Pond

Wow! The past 72 hours have been a time of contrasts: intense action with utter boredom, the United States with Germany, and the English language (and knowing what all is going on) to the German language (and having no idea what is being said). Here is my attempt at a summary of the past three days.

It all began on Tuesday the 28th. I had a last Frontier fiesta burger with Allison, Patrick, Riley, and Brian, all friends down in Albuquerque going to school. We met up at the local favorite The Frontier at 7:00 a.m. and chatted over out breakfasts. By 8:30 Patrick had left for class and Riley had parted for practice (he plays for the UNM soccer team) and so Allison, Brian, and I decided to stop down the street at Satellite Coffee for a small drink and a prolongation of our chat session over a small cup of joe. Around 9:00 Brian left for work and Allison and I drove to Albuquerque International Sunport. After many hugs we shared an emotional goodbye I made my way through security and on to the first day of my eastward movement.

I had no troubles with the comfortable, short, hour and a quarter flight to Dallas, Texas. However, I would like to interject to say that if I think that my transit was defined by one thing it was time, either having very little of it or a painfully excessive amount of it. In the Dallas terminal I hurried and got a lunch of two tacos and then rushed to my next gate, arriving to board with the final group. Once seated in the plane we were informed that the plane had a "minor mechanical problem" but that we could rest assured that it was "not anything at all serious" and that we would be "on our way in fifteen minutes". It turns out the captain was correct and we were in the air shortly afterwards. Upon landing in Washington D.C. our buddy in the cockpit once again supplied a happy morsel with the words "it seems as if there is someone currently in the gate that we are supposed to unload at, we will have to wait for them but should have you on your way in the next 20 minutes or so". Boarding for my connecting flight to New York JFK began at 6:55. I got off the plane from Dallas at 7:05. My departing to JFK flight was scheduled to take off at 7:25. I ran. However, I made it there and it turns out I wasn't even the last person to board!

 45 minutes later I had successfully found my way off the plane, located my checked bag, searched out the JFK terminal that I would be flying out of, and made it there to realize that no Singapore Airlines staff members were there and would not be there until the following day at 4:40 p.m. for the flight check in. I spent the following 24 hours in JFK's terminal 4 waiting for my Wednesday 8:35p.m. flight. It is safe to sat that that was the longest day of my life. My time there was defined by 4 hours of broken sleep, 20 hours of miserable awakedness, and an unhealthy amount of monetary interaction with the McDonald's in the terminal. in order to generously uphold American stereotypes.  

However, I was able to track down a special edition Time magazine (ironic) on the race for the presidency which was extremely interesting to read and vital in the killing of a couple hours in the war against the clock. I know am 100% comfortable discussing an election I will not be able to vote in and debating about two candidates which I will not have a chance to vote for.

                                            My home for 24 hours at JFK, which led to.....

                                                    .....the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.

However, my flight with Singapore Airlines was fantastic! Very spacious, a very kind crew, and very good food and services. I was even able to practice a little German on the seatback TV to prep myself for arrival in Frankfurt. Now, I write you from my desk in the room that will serve as my home for the next 6 months, after a brilliant day with my completely awesome host family, both of which will be the subject of my next entry.....

This sign helps remind me that I don't actually speak the language of the country I will be living in for the next 6 months.

The Calm Before the Storm

Well, here we are, two days before departure (Yes, if that sounded a little off, I did say 2 days!) After reviewing my travel itinerary I realized that I leave TUESDAY morning instead of Monday morning, thank goodness I wasn't accidentally a day off in the other direction! The obvious inference that can be made from this situation is not that I am unprepared or unorganized, but in fact TOO prepared and a little TOO organized, I'm a day early.


However, the most important happenings of the last week have had nothing to do with me or my trip, but my sister Mackenzie and the trip she has embarked upon. On Tuesday the 21st, at 6:02 p.m. mountain time, she, my mother and my father left on their road trip to Spokane, Washington, where she will be attending Gonzaga University. She
has been charged with the mission of heading north

and updating the Pavlik reputation with the Jesuits there at Gonzaga. (For those who don't know, my dad, Mark, attended Gonzaga.....uh.....well.....quite awhile ago.) Mark Pavlik's legacy will be replaced with that of Mackenzie Pavlik. Out with the old, in with the new I suppose. All joking aside, it is a great institution and my sister is going to absolutely thrive there. I look forward to hearing what all she will do and how all will play out.....

           GO BULLDOGS!


Here is the link to the Gonzaga's website for any of you interested in doing a little research: http://www.gonzaga.edu/

Yes, things will be very different in the Pavlik household without Mackenzie around! Nathaniel, Allison, and I were able to get a taste of this in the immediate aftermath of the move...

BACKGROUND: Allison Anderson (my girlfriend of almost 9 months) is in nursing school down at the University of New Mexico. The nursing program there is a quick in-and-out 16 month program, and so she is on a much different schedule than the rest of us. She has a 2 week summer vacation though and she came up to Farmington for the first week of it to spend some time with the family before the great departures.

...She, Nathaniel and I had three days together after Mackenzie and the parents left and it is safe to say that we all missed her very much! Nathaniel realized that it was going to be a much different dynamic now with just the parents and him in the house. Well, after a short period of mourning, the three of us decided that we were doing no one any good by dwelling on the absence of Mackenzie and we tried to fill up this void via frozen yogurt at Aspen Leaf....twice!, dining at Costa Vida, eating with the cousins, and consuming milkshake upon milkshake. We were unsuccessful. No amount of food was able to replace my sister, we will miss you Mackenzie! Mackenzie is all moved in to her dorm now and seems to be having a blast so far at orientation. The parents are scheduled to return home very late tonight, Sunday.

Then, on Friday, Allison and I drove down to Albuquerque where I had various meetings with the Financial Aid Office and Study Abroad Office in order to clear a couple things up and also make sure we were all on the same page going into the trip. Since then I have been saying goodbyes to my various Albuquerque comrades and spending time with Allison before the long distance stage of our relationship begins. Next on the agenda is a visit with Allison's sister and her fiancée before attending "Mass on the Grass" at the Aquinas Newman Center on campus, and then wind down the evening with Allison and I's last date.

Well, that is all for now! Sorry about the tardiness of this second post, I have already failed you in my once a week promise. At least I got that little bout of infidelity over with though and we can both proceed with renewed commitment! Also, I am done packing, here is my life for the next year!

And here is the link the the University of Wuerzburg's website, while I am in the business of giving out college  information: http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/ .

 Google has a very useful and decently accurate translator. ;)

An Inconvenient Truth

I have 10 more days to prepare myself for 5 months in Germany. The goal of this blog is to try and keep everyone informed and entertained as I bumble, eat, and explore my way through Europe and Central America this upcoming year. I can't make any promises, so don't be holding me to this, but I am going to try my hardest to write an entry at least once every week, possibly more if I find some time, and to include pictures of everything going on as well. I plan on spending the first semstre of this upcoming year studying in Würzburg, Germany. During the following Spring Semestre I hope to be participating in an internship at Casa Xalteva (an international Spanish language school) in Granada, Nicaragua.

                                                                                                        

Today my computer is telling me it is the 16th, my plane ticket is telling me I board a plane to Germany on the 27th, and my mathematically challenged mind is trying to compute how I will fit in all that I need to fit in during that small window of time. I have compiled an optimistic "To Do" list that already consists of 20 items, with only 5 of them being crossed out already. Some of these tasks are: purchase international health insurance, figure out what kind of a system to use to manage money while abroad, create my budget, get a haircut, and learn German. Yes, 11 days before departure "learn German" is still not crossed out on the list. One of the more interesting list items is "figure out gifts for host family". I am still debating what kind of a gift to purchase. I am leaning towards some sort of green chili gift, but I also don't want them to die, as I am assuming that most Germans have not developed a very high tolerance for spicy foods. I guess I will just have to continue to ponder it, I have pleeeenty of time!

I leave for Albuquerque on the 25th and will spend a couple days there making sure I have everything turned in and that UNM has no more inconvenient surprises for me. On the 27th at 10:45 a.m. I board my American Airlines flight to Dallas, then to Washington D.C., and then finally arrive in New York. I have a day in New York, and then on the 29th at 8:35 p.m. I board my flight to Frankfurt, Germany, and will be arriving the next morning at 10:45. My host family has be so kind as to offer to pick me up in Frankfurt, about an hour and a half drive northwest of where they live, in Karlstadt.

That's all for tonight, it's time for a good night's rest followed by another day of attacking my list! Guten nacht und bis bald!