Das Ende meines Auslandsstudiums

Now I am back in Kentucky. Originally, I thought I was going to be absolutely miserable being here, but I have been delightfully surprised.

So here is how my journey home went down.

9 hour train ride from Vienna to Frankfurt, Germany. I finished a bottle of Salmiakki (Finnish alcoholic drink) before I even got half way there...hey it was a party train. Once I got to Frankfurt at 4AM I had a 7 hour layover before my flight to Orlando. So then I get to Orlando and am waiting for my flight to Houston. Unfortunately, there were 10 inches of rain that fell in Houston and all flights to and from were being delayed. I eventually got to Houston and had missed my connecting flight to Lexington. This is where things get interesting.

Everyone who missed their connecting flights got a hotel voucher to stay the night in Houston and wait for the next flights the next day. I am waiting in line and finally get reticketed to go to Cincinnati. I asked if I get one of the hotel vouchers and am disappointed to find out that I don't because I am on a buddy pass (basically, I paid next to nothing to fly because my friend works for the airline). This really nice woman who was standing next to me heard my plight and offered to let me stay in her room for the night. I was flabbergasted! I told her that I would sleep on the floor, anything is better than staying the night in the airport.

On the way to the hotel I was joking around and said that I was going to get a bottle of vodka before going to bed. She turned and said, "Wanna share?" Hellz yea! This woman is cool. She was Asian and looked around mid-twenties. We arrive and I hide behind a pillar so that the attendant behind the desk does not see me and I can get in the room. He asks her if she and her travel companion want a king size or two doubles? Two doubles thank you. Do you need two food vouchers or just one? Two please ($10 each).

We go up to the room but soon go down to the hotel bar. My drinks totalled up to be around $40 and she insisted on paying! Would not even let me get a dollar out. What a lady. Turns out she is a dentist in California and has a son who is almost my age. I suppose she was around 40 years old or so. Her husband back in CA was quite nervous that she picked up some random guy at the airport and is letting him stay in her room; I think his apprehension was justified. I gave her my passport and driver's licence so that she could relay that information to him on the phone. He was then reassured.

The night ended with my passing out before the lights were out. The next day I had to get up at 5AM so I could catch my flight to Cincy. Nothing more exciting happened after that.

------------------------------------------------------------

For the time being I am living at my mother's house, where I don't have a room. I get to sleep on the couch. It is not that bad because I wear earplugs and don't hear anyone when they get up. I applied for jobs at 4 banks, 2 airlines, and dropped the hint at my old work that I would be willing to work part time. Mainly, I just need to get some money coming in so I can pay some of my debts.

I am really happy to see my family again. I get along really well with most of them, especially the women in my family. I just got back from my grandparents' house, where I spent a good 2 hours just chatting with my grandmother. We can talk about everything. She even asked me when I knew I was gay, and so we discussed that whole matter. She is right about one aspect; family is the most important thing in the world and that is all we have when it comes down to it.