First Solo Trip!

Hi!

This was not what I had planned for my first post on this page, but one thing led to another and I felt it was a complication that I could share!

A couple weeks ago I was informed by the Swedish Migration Agency, the agency that grants residency to live and study in Sweden, that I would have to make a trip to Washington D.C. to show my passport in front of the Swedish Embassy. It was a shock to find out I would have to make the trek all the way to Washington D.C. Nonetheless, I booked my flight immediately and was set to leave in two days time.

The good thing about this trip is I have flown before many times before, and when I go through the airport with my mom, she always has me get us checked in, find our gate, etc. This definitely came in handy when booking the solo flight to Washington D.C. I arrived early at the airport, and my flight departed at 6:00AM. I flew into D.C. around 9:30AM, and immediately headed to the friends' apartment I was staying at. I got settled in, had some breakfast, and then I was off to learn how to use the metro station and sightsee a little.

Coming from a small town, especially in a small state, I had never used public transportation before, so learning to use the metro was definitely a learning curve. Although, by that afternoon I was able to use the metro confidently and get from one place to the other in no time. Learning to use the metro was very good practice when I will be living in Sweden seeing as public transportation is such a big thing in Europe.

I mostly shopped the day away, walking from one store to the next. Nearing the end of the day, I decided to check out the National Portrait Gallery. It was free entry, and I spent almost three hours exploring the museum. The museum was so big, I didn't even get to see everything! I headed back to where I was staying and stopped at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. The food was absolutely AMAZING!

Early the next morning I threw on my heels and Rotary jacket, and headed to the Swedish Embassy. By the time I got there, there was already a line out the door waiting. As I was waiting to be seen, I met a couple from Washington State who flew down for the same reason I did! We talked for a while until I was pulled out of line by a worker. They took notice to my Rotary Youth Exchange jacket and helped me immediately. Within 10 minutes I was set to go and as I was getting in my Lyft, I got an email from the Swedish Migration Agency that I had been granted residency!

With having logged seven miles of walking the previous day, I went home, ordered in breakfast, and hung out majority of the day before taking the metro down to the Ronald Reagan Airport and boarding my flight! I flew into the Des Moines airport at 11PM, and was home by 1AM! Overall, it was a great trip, and I got to experience traveling by myself for the first time, as well as seeing a city I never had before!

I am now home for the foreseeable future until my flight to Stockholm, Sweden leaves the morning of Thursday, August 1st!

More posts to come!