Goodbye to Dallas....
Hello to Germany...
You would think after a year and a half of trying to find a job there and all the excitement of finally being with him I would be thinking of him and the lovely romantic time we were going to have together… well sort of… as you can guess from an overseas move, I was rather stressed and exhausted. So much so that when I finally arrived in Germany, I got my terminal wrong and went to the wrong baggage claim… more on that in a moment.
Normally I go through customs with my traditional Q&A session with the patrol officers. They always ask how long I plan to be in Germany. Then they ask the nature of my visit. Sometimes they will look at the other stamps in my passport and ask me questions about my other travels just to confirm it is my passport. This day I was a bit nervous. I had my offer letter from New Firm in hand all set to handle the “issue” I was going to cause with my answers being out of the ordinary. However, when they asked how long I plan to be in Germany, and I answered “permanently”, the man just smiled, stamped my passport and set me on my way. It was lovely just going through the line past all the other people who were actual “issues”.
Normally going to the wrong terminal and baggage claim would not be a big deal. I asked where I should go and they told me if I walked outside I could get to the guarded doors of baggage claim and someone would let me in. Let me preface this by saying that in Germany, you go into baggage claim and only passengers are allowed in there. The area is surrounded by painted glass so you can’t see out into the waiting area (and they can’t see in either). So here I am, after a 12 hour flight (via Frankfurt), ready to see Alex, and I walk outside to the other terminal. As I walk through the waiting area I see my sweet boyfriend and notice that he is talking to other people. As I get closer, I think that the other people look familiar. It turns out that Alex has brought his father and our best friends Christoph and Patrizia and their adorable baby boy Alessandro (who just turned a year old)! They have balloons, flowers and a banner that says “Willkommen” (Welcome)! How lovely could that be?? Except here I am on the outside of where my entrance is supposed to be and botching the plans of a grand surprise they had in mind. Not a problem though, as it was just a great suprise to see them there and seeing little Alessandro and how big he is!
I also forgot to mention, I landed in Germany on October 14, 2007. This was exactly 2 years from the day we met in Washington, D.C.! I chose to travel and arrive on this date due to the significance. Our friends and Alex's dad had such thoughtful gifts for us to celebrate that milestone.
When we got home to Lüneburg, Alex had decorated the place with flowers and a homemade banner saying “Welcome Home!” His dad made me a yummy dish of chicken curry and I am afraid that shortly after that I was fast asleep. I slept for so long that I missed my chance to say goodbye to his Dad. However, I was finally in one place with no plan of needing to move for quite a while. I did not have to worry that it was a matter of time before I had to leave Alex to go back to the States. I was at my home, our home, with Alex! And with that peace of mind, I slept some more!
Normally I go through customs with my traditional Q&A session with the patrol officers. They always ask how long I plan to be in Germany. Then they ask the nature of my visit. Sometimes they will look at the other stamps in my passport and ask me questions about my other travels just to confirm it is my passport. This day I was a bit nervous. I had my offer letter from New Firm in hand all set to handle the “issue” I was going to cause with my answers being out of the ordinary. However, when they asked how long I plan to be in Germany, and I answered “permanently”, the man just smiled, stamped my passport and set me on my way. It was lovely just going through the line past all the other people who were actual “issues”.
Normally going to the wrong terminal and baggage claim would not be a big deal. I asked where I should go and they told me if I walked outside I could get to the guarded doors of baggage claim and someone would let me in. Let me preface this by saying that in Germany, you go into baggage claim and only passengers are allowed in there. The area is surrounded by painted glass so you can’t see out into the waiting area (and they can’t see in either). So here I am, after a 12 hour flight (via Frankfurt), ready to see Alex, and I walk outside to the other terminal. As I walk through the waiting area I see my sweet boyfriend and notice that he is talking to other people. As I get closer, I think that the other people look familiar. It turns out that Alex has brought his father and our best friends Christoph and Patrizia and their adorable baby boy Alessandro (who just turned a year old)! They have balloons, flowers and a banner that says “Willkommen” (Welcome)! How lovely could that be?? Except here I am on the outside of where my entrance is supposed to be and botching the plans of a grand surprise they had in mind. Not a problem though, as it was just a great suprise to see them there and seeing little Alessandro and how big he is!
I also forgot to mention, I landed in Germany on October 14, 2007. This was exactly 2 years from the day we met in Washington, D.C.! I chose to travel and arrive on this date due to the significance. Our friends and Alex's dad had such thoughtful gifts for us to celebrate that milestone.
When we got home to Lüneburg, Alex had decorated the place with flowers and a homemade banner saying “Welcome Home!” His dad made me a yummy dish of chicken curry and I am afraid that shortly after that I was fast asleep. I slept for so long that I missed my chance to say goodbye to his Dad. However, I was finally in one place with no plan of needing to move for quite a while. I did not have to worry that it was a matter of time before I had to leave Alex to go back to the States. I was at my home, our home, with Alex! And with that peace of mind, I slept some more!
1 comment:
I'm anxious to hear more! See you soon! :)
Michelle L.
Post a Comment