May 16, 2012
Final Blog
– Hello all! This is Quinn Evans with your final Europe trip blog. I’m writing to you from the comfort of my dorm room with a large McDonalds half cut tea (we all dearly missed our sweet nectar abroad) in the grand ol’ USofA. Can you believe its already been 11 days since we first took off for Croatia?
We started our final morning with a lovely 5:15 wake up call, (thanks Tonya) preceded by a 6am visit from Ed double-checking we were all up and at em. By 6:15 we loaded the busses and were bidding the city of Milan goodbye. Although we were a bit giggly and delusional, as usual, we spent the time in the airport sharing stories of our travels and favorite moments. The first flight was only an hour-long trip to Frankfurt. Most everyone took this as an opportunity to catch some much-needed sleep. After a short layover, with our last European meal in our bellies, we were `Merica bound. Our excitement grew the closer we got to home. Upon landing we began singing various patriotic songs and chants. Although we loved Europe, there truly is no place like home.
Now came the biggest hurdle of the day: customs. Compared to the length of the flight (10 hours) you would think an hour or two wouldn’t be too bad. But the cards change when you are sitting at your destination and cant leave. Once we finally got everybody through and cleared up a few mishaps we were headed on the familiar route northbound to the Institute. Once it was in sight I gave a nice “GEORGIA TECH!” holler. I was expecting to gain a few followers to join in, but only got blank stares and a “What on Earth was that Q?” from Tonya.
Although we have only been back a few hours it’s been crazy for us on campus dorms seeing as tomorrow is move out day. It is currently 4 in the morning back in Europe. We will definitely be hitting the awake for 24 hours mark as we all scurry to pack and move into our Summer housing and prepare for school tomorrow. Talk about a transition from roaming the streets of Venice, doing an alpine slide down the mountains of Slovenia or sitting by the water sipping a tiny cup of coffee chatting with my team … to sitting in a classroom.
Thank you to all the parents, boosters and GT staff that made this trip possible. It was truly a trip of a lifetime and one that we will all cherish and be able to look back on with a smile for the rest of our lives.
Ciao!!!
Quinn
PS I keep finding myself saying gratzi and have gotten a few odd glares. Oops!
