Day 1: Saturday Feb 27, 2010
Location: RDU airport
Elise and I left yesterday straight from school after our ortho test. We were so excited it was hard to focus on all 50 questions. But we made it through security flawlessly and waited in the airport for about 2 hours--almost unbearable! Hopped on a quick 38 minute flight to Washington in which we stuffed in there like sardines. After arriving at Washington-Dulles airport we grabbed a few snacks since we only had a few minutes before our flight to Germany boarded.

Location: Somewhere over the Atlantic

The Flight to Frankfurt went surprisingly quick! As we were first taking off, I'll admit I almost cried--just a little nervous on my very first trip across the Atlantic. I sat next to a woman going to Saudi Arabia to work at Woman’s Clinic. Read a little, slept alot.

Location: Frankfurt Airport
"The Passport Fiasco" --As soon as we were exiting the plane, I started looking for my passport and couldn’t find it. I turned my bookbag inside out and after much to do and a little panic—they found it on board the plane in the overhead compartment. Good thing it hadn’t left yet! Dr. Horowitz is calling me 'Passport Brittany' now and I start every sentence with, "I have my passport...". I probably will never live this down!
o Got my very first stamp in my passport!! Clearly, over excited! I was really happy because the guy did it so neatly and you can actually tell where I went. During our six hour layover, we walked around the airport a few times. Dr. Horowitz treated us to brunch at Kaper’s. I even had a bite of Elise's white sausage—very interesting texture! The lines at security and passport control were long, but we finally reached our gate only to find another security check point.
o Finally boarded our last flight. Started taking pictures of our Air Moldova plane!

Location: Closer to Moldova
o Best flight of the day! Less than a 1/3 of the plane was filled. The food was good—they eat lots of cold cut meat and cheese along with chopped vegetables. The best part was the dessert—Elise and I ate that first! We even practiced some Romanian! Multumesc (which means 'Thank You'). I love how as soon as we boarded the plane (before I even spoke) the flight attendants KNEW we were Americans!

Location: Chisinau, Moldova

Welcome to Moldova! Finally arrived in Moldova. Caught the little bus to the building and got another stamp in my passport! Col. Mix and Diana Danu were waiting for us when we arrived. Hugs all around. Boarded the taxi bus to drop off Dr. Horowitz, Dr. Garland, Vanessa, and Caroline off at the hotel. Couldn't take my eyes off the gorgeous chandelier!

I have to admit, there's nothing really beautiful or exotic about Moldova--kind of looks like any ordinary city. Driving is interesting—they don’t really have painted lines so yeah please use caution while walking! We went to the Green Hills grocery store to exchange currency and buy a few snacks.

Location: Our apartment!!!

AWESOME!!! Huge kitchen, dining room, and a sitting area downstairs, a spiral staircase and Elise and I have our own rooms and bathrooms with walk-in closets. It's better than my apartment in NC so I might not come home... Unpacked, showered (Thank God!) and just winding down for the night. We meet the crew at noon tomorrow to go over the itinerary and have lunch. Been a great but tiring day!