Monday, September 15, 2014

Flying to Macedonia

            Well after almost a year and a half from when I applied the came has come for me to head off to begin the Peace Corps.  It's been a long waiting period and the word that comes to mind for me is: Relief.  After the Azerbaijan debacle I'm relieved that it's actually happening. So let's get started on the journey to Macedonia.
             I flew out of Knoxville direct to our staging location in Philadelphia. (I almost missed my flight out because I left a swiss army knife in my bag. I tried to put it back in my checked luggage but it was too late so I left it and went through security, sprinting to the gate and just made it before they closed the doors!) I met up with a couple other volunteers and we Ubered it to our hotel. We had our orientation sessions for the day, going over security, passports, etc. 
             The next day, Saturday, we went to JFK and flew out on Austrian airlines. Here's a word of advice, if you can ever fly Austrian Air do it, they were great. We landed in Vienna then connected to Skopje and finally bussed it to our hotel/school that we're at now. The jet lag was tough by the time we landed but after a couple meals and an early night I'm feeling much better. We start our language classes today and I'm excited to begin that. 

Bags are packed and ready to go. I forget the pillow too.

One last Mom selfie.

Heading in to Philly.

Our orientation/staging was long but productive.
Hahaha.

The NYC skyline was looking spectacular despite the clouds.

With over 40 of us flying together we dominated any and all lines.

Yeah I've got two passports now.

Austrian Air was simply fantastic. 

Pre flight pic. 

Part of the reason Austrian Air was great was their efficiency. They opened doors to the front of the plane and the back.
The Vienna airport also had couches and great wifi to use. 

Land ho!!

This is the Skopje airport. The sign says, "Alexander the Great Airpot".

Macedonia has some beautiful scenery. 
            Alright, that's where I'm at so far here in Macedonia and I'll update you after we get settled in following a couple training days.  Hope you enjoyed your weekend. 

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