Blue Bandana

I arrived in Vienna, Austria Wednesday evening after the worlds longest, most uncomfortable flight.  I literally thought my life would end before that plane ride ever did!!  After going through customs and receiving another cool stamp in my passport, I sat at the baggage belt waiting for my luggage.   Now for anyone who doesn't know, on my trip to Europe last year the airline lost my suitcase (but that's an entirely different story),  so I'm slightly paranoid when it comes to other people handling my luggage.   The first suitcase onto the belt was my large one with the bright orange bandana tied around the handle, and I was so relieved to see it!!  Now all I had to do was look for the one with the blue bandana and I would be good to go.  However, after watching the same suitcases, none of which were mine, go around and around and around I started to feel a little anxious. Ok maybe more than a little.  I decided to wait a little longer but their was still no sign of the blue bandana.  :(  So there I was back at the counter filing ANOTHER missing suitcase complaint for the SAME suitcase that got lost in Ireland only a year ago!   'Slightly' irritated, I followed a bunch of people who looked like they knew where they were going (becuase I certainly didn't)  hoping they would lead me to wear I could get picked up by a family I had never met.  Sure enough, I was soon looking at tons of people standing there waiting.  Many of them were holding signs with names on them but none of them read Nicole.   I scanned the crowd for what seemed like an eternity hoping to recognize faces from pictures I'd seen and praying that they would actually be there.  After a while I heard a voice say Nicole?...and my first thought was "oh man I wish I knew Liam Neeson!"  But when I turned around it was in fact my new temporary family and NOT an albanian terrorist.  Thank heavens.   We introduced ourselves officially (they really do that kiss on each cheek thing by the way...yikes)  and then we were on our way to my new home in a neighboring town called Gross-Enzersdorf.  :)  I thought the kids would be shy at first but I soon learned otherwise.  I was barely through the doorway before all four kids were fighting over me!  "Nicole come color with me!"  "Nicole come jump on the tramp!"  "Nicole come play a game!"   My head was spinning and I was so tired from the flight I thought I might pass out!  But nonetheless I did all of those things before the kids allowed me to rest.   After they went to bed, I took my stuff (only one suitcase :( ) downstairs to my new room and fell asleep almost instantly.  (boy do I love jet-lag!!  lol)   After dreaming about my crazy week, the next year I would spend in Austria and a million other things, I woke up to find the suitcase with the blue bandana waiting outside my door!  It had been shipped to me immediately upon it's arrival!  :) :)