And so it begins...

Sorry for the delay! I haven't had internet for the past few days but now I am up and going!

New York was by far one of my most favorite birthdays. And I was definitely that girl who pulled out her camera every chance I could and there was no shame as to looking like a typical tourist to the dismay of Tyler. It is hard to say what my favorite part was though. Central park was huuge and the street performers and street vendors were every where. The empire state building view was gorgeous and I didn't want to leave. It  truly was the perfect view of the city. And I never believed the rat myth in NY but they weren't lying when it came to rats ...they are huge and when I say huge they could probably eat a small pet dog, which seems to be the preferred pet in the city. To each their own I guess. M&M world though, that chocolate wall of heaven and every color...*sigh* things of dreams I tell you. Imagine every color of regular M&M, Peanut M&M and flavors I never knew they had M&M. It was all there. Any merchandise or collectibles of every M&M character were there. It was so much to take in and if there hadn't been so many people and being so tired from walking all across NYC I would have ran like a child, well, like a child in a candy store. Of course this was in time square which was literally the brightest part of the city. And we saw it all. The ads, the strange people, the show girls that are painted, and yes I am glad to say we got the full NY experience...we saw the naked cowboy O_o...not really naked thank god. What I was shocked by though was the size of New York state and how beautiful the country side of it is. It was amazing. All of it, amazing.

Leaving was by far the hardest thing to do. You always try to tell yourself that you are always stronger, that you won't cry but in the end (at least for me) I told my self who cares if someone sees me crying. This is a big event in my life. I am leaving everyone I love behind to go off on an adventure and I have the right to be a little nervous, a little scared. It was like the first day of kindergarten all over again...will the kids like me? What about my teacher? What will I learn? Will I learn? Will I fit in? What if I want a purple glue stick and they say no? I don't have my mommy to back me up. I am on my own and for the first time in my life I don't have someone to care for. I am a care taker it is what I do. I care for others and watch over them. Even in school I was called "mom" among my friends and now I didn't have that. And so my adventure begins with me not knowing who I really want to be and what is expected of me. Even with my uneasiness it felt good.

Now for planes...I had never been on one before and I had no idea to what to expect. Everything is crowded your feet and knees barely away from hitting the person on your side and the seat in front of you. Children are crying and in my case no one was speaking English. Thank goodness is was French and I could comprehend most of what was being said. When you take off though it's like a roller coaster. You expect the plane to go all the way up and come straight down but it didn't. It kept going and going and the air pockets made the plane shake and I was sure to god the thing would fall. I had to prepare my self for every situation. Once we got far enough for my nerve to calm I looked out and it was breathtaking. We were in clouds! I had dreamt for so long as a child to live and play in the clouds and imagined a whole other world above us. And my friends, it truly did look like another world. Surrounding me were fluffy cotton like mountains, sky blue lakes and rivers, and I looked hard enough there were cities with towers that kept on going until I couldn't see anymore. Again, breathtaking. When it came to seeing the sun set and rise I literally cried because it was so beautiful and awing. Below me, when I could see them, were cities, man made cities and they seemed like such peons compared to the cloud cities that I saw. I was reminded of how small not only I was in the world but humanity is. As for food, I was surprised. I expected peanuts and water or something around that nature. Not only did I get three full meals between my two flights but I had a choice as to what I wanted for dinner. I also had over 50 movie choices and like a child I watched animated films. But eh, I am an addict when it comes to dream works movies.

Let's just say Budapest is beautiful, the food is great, and contrary to what I was told...not too many speak or are willing to speak English. That's ok though because it gives me a challenge and a goal. The first day was definitely rough between me getting off the plane and not knowing where to go, getting bombarded by taxi drivers for rides, and asking where to go and even having police officers not able to speak to me. Not to mention the fact that my laptop bag literally broke apart and my laptop came crashing through on to Budapest airport pavement....heart stopping/wrenching/crushing moment. I had to ask myself "Is this really what I got myself into? No language, no friends, and possibly no laptop. I had to remind myself though that life likes to throw those lemons at you and you have to keep going; making lemonade along the way. But I do miss waking up next to the person I love and having my cats and their morning routine. I miss seeing my family and I miss seeing and hearing English at times because I feel like an outsider which I am. But that is part of the experience, I have to learn to become somewhat a part of the culture.

And so with this I will be strong, I will be determined, and I will have fun. Right now I am finding out about myself which is much needed. And I may  not like some things that I find out but the best thing about being human is the ability to grow.