Hello Kansas! - The Powers Family (Part 1)

So the 8th of August came and I flew into Kansas City International Airport. What happened next?

I met the lovely Cheryl Powers.

I had been told by the Office of Study Abroad at KU that I was supposed to arrive on August 9th to check in and participate in the International Orientation week. With the time difference and flights and everything I thought I'd be best arriving the day before, deciding to book a shuttle bus from the airport to Lawrence and booking a hotel room for a night.

Me (looking rough) at 2am

Luckily, I didn't have to do either of those things because I signed up for the Family Transportation programme that KU organise and the family that I was assigned to offered me an overnight stay! I couldn't believe it - it saved me a lot of cash and I managed to get in contact with an American family before I even got there! I'm so grateful that KU organised that for me as an International Exchange Student and that the Power's family were so kind to offer that kind of help...

So I met Cheryl as soon as I got off the plane. I was really tired because I hadn't had much sleep but also so excited when I finally landed in Kansas. She seemed to recognise me right away which was great because I was worried I wouldn't be able to recognise her. I remember she picked up another international student from China and since his plane hadn't landed yet, we decided to get a Starbucks.

The first cultural confusion came at this point when I ordered a Caramel Creme Frapauccino and the lady at the counter had no idea what I was saying...and then paying for it because I wasn't used to American money yet. I think Cheryl ended up ordering for me in the end.

So we were sitting with our drinks and Cheryl told me all about her family, which was fascinating - until we heard a scream. We looked around wondering what was going on, until we realised there was a bat flapping about the airport! I was really shocked because I'd never seen one before and Cheryl was really shocked because it was flapping about in broad daylight.

Then we met Simon, who was a nice boy but was rather shy...I think it was a bit harder for him to chat with us because he couldn't speak a lot of english. We got our cases and then Cheryl picked us up at the entrance.

The heat hit me like I'd stepped into a sauna. I really didn't expect Kansas to be that hot, I thought it was more like Scotland in terms of weather but man was I wrong. I was wearing jeans and a vest top and I was sweating. It was over 100 degrees farenheit (that's a big deal when you come from Scotland).

On the drive back to Cheryl's we spoke a bit more and I just couldn't believe I was there. Finally after all that time, I was actually gona be studying in the States!

Then we got to hers and I met her daughter Cara who had studied abroad in London. After we introduced ourselves she asked us what we wanted to do. Shower and sleep...by then I realised how tired I was...I was so excited I forgot about being tired. 

I went to Caleb's old room and got ready for bed...the whole time I kept thinking I can't I'm actually here. Cheryl's house was so beautiful. It was a great way to start off my year abroad, with a family. 

The next day would be my first full day in the United States, and my first day at KU! Read about it this Friday and become a follower of the blog! Comments/questions are always welcome!