We finally made it!
After months and months of organizing and packing and closing up our household we finally made our way to the Frankfurt airport on Friday, August 3rd.
After a tearful good-bye from my grandparents, who we are very very close to, my parents, my sister and I made our way through the security inspection and to the gate. With some tears left in the corners of our eyes but a lot of excitement building up in our tummies we quickly got each of us a sandwich at a shop (we were pretty much starving and the minimum lunches on the plane would definitely not have gotten us through the whole nine-hour flight) we were soon after that able to board the plane to our new adventure. Tell me about exciting!
The stop at Washington Dulles Airport in Washington DC was more than stressful. Of course we were not the only huge plane arriving from overseas so immigration section was packed when we arrived after a lift by an airport-bus-trucky-thing (how the driver managed to park that thing immidietly without any correction is a mystery to me...). Luckily we had all our papers filled out correctly (we've been learning ;)) and the passports right in hand and got a nice officer. Four photos, fingerprints and stamps later we were legally in the United States of America, our new home for at least the next five years. Finally.
With only half an hour until boarding left on our watches, we were again lucky to find our four gigantic suitcases right away, got easily through the second immigration gate and gave up our luggage once more.
With only twenty minutes left we quickly headed through the corridors and halls and more corridors the apparently thirty mile oddyssey to our next gate. As soon as we arrived there, a nice lady announced through the speakers that the gate for our flight had changed. Of course we had to walk half the way back to get to the new gate, only to find out that our plane would not board for at least thirty to fourty-five minutes. Well... At least we did not miss our flight, right? If optimism was an Olympic discipline we would definitely win the first four ranks for Germany. Or rather America now ;).
The flight from Washington to Raleigh/Durham was only a fourty-minute one with approximitely twenty of them in the air and twenty on the ground.
We arrived there at 6:30 pm. When we stepped out of the airport and on real American concrete, it hit us. 105°F ~ 40°C and at least 80% humidity. Oh, and we actually arrived in our new home!
After miraculously fitting all our suitcases and backpacks and pillows (and yes! ourselves, too!) into the rental car we were finally on our way to a shower and beds.
Let me tell you, this trip was an adventure all by itself. But the real one was only about to begin.
Love,
Eileen
