I got to Seattle yesterday. I will stay until mid-August to work at a church internship. But before I start, I will have some time to get settled in. To “get there”. Here’s what happened so far:

My mom drove me to Frankfurt airport in the morning on Feb 10th. But we had two travel concerns we normally don’t have: A hurricane and the Corona-virus.
For the first issue: The hurricane had swept over most of Europe the night before and was still sending strong winds from the North. We left extra early and made sure to drive carefully. The way over was mostly fine, but my mom said that it took her over 4h to get home: The wind had knocked a truck off the road. When we walked into the airport, we saw that most of the domestic flights were canceled, as well as some other flights within Europe. The noticeboard was a sight to behold. The flight itself was delayed an hour because other planes had been on hold due to the storm. We ended up needing an hour less time, though, so I got there just fine.
As far as the second issue is concerned, I wore a mask on the flight. It wasn’t out of paranoia, more out of general caution: I had a sore throat and tend to get sick when I am tired. As much as Corona is a bad disease, it’s not the only thing you could get on a flight full of people when your immune system is compromised. A mask seemed like a good idea, just in case.

I’m staying with my uncle’s family. They prepared their lovely, eclectic guest room for me to stay in. My uncle paints murals as a part-time job. You can tell that he had a hand in the decoration of this room and the rest of the house.

I stayed up until 9 PM and slept pretty well. I unpacked and got my stuff in order the next morning. I hope I can get over jetlag soon. And also get “settled” in general. I’ve been to the States many times, but never as a “working resident”. I notice lots of little details that are different than in Germany: Most people drive automatic cars here, most Europeans drive manual. The doorknobs are round and plastic, most German doors have handles. They use pounds and gallons, Germans use kilos and liters. And you would probably never find peanut butter-flavored breakfast cereal in Germany, either. I had some this morning, I like it.

All in all, I am very excited to be here and to start work in a few days. I know that I’m home, even if I’m halfway across the globe. I’m home because I’m with family and because I’m part American. But on a deeper level, I’m also “home” as a Christian: I believe that my ultimate home is with God, and since he is everywhere, I’m home everywhere. This will be interesting for me since I will specifically be working with a church. To get to know another part of my home.

Zusammenfassung: Ich bin gut in Seattle angekommen. Mein Flug war wegen dem Orkan eine Stunde verschoben, wurde aber durch den Wind nicht in Gefahr gebracht. Ich habe eine Schutzmaske getragen, zum einen wegen dem Coronavirus, zum anderen aber v.a. wegen meiner Halsschmerzen und weil ich schnell krank werde, wenn ich müde bin. Ich wohne bei meinem Onkel im wunderschönen Gästezimmer. Er macht als Nebenjob Wandgemälde. Das sieht man! Insgesamt freue ich mich total auf die Zeit. Ich merke, dass viele Dinge anders sind: Die meisten Leute fahren mit Automatik Getriebe, es gibt Türklinken zum Drehen, man misst Dinge in Pfund und Gallon, und es gibt Müsli mit Erdnussbutter-Geschmack. Aber gleichzeitig fühle ich mich nicht so fremd. Weil ich bei Familie bin, aber auch, weil ich als Christ bei Gott bin: er ist überall, also bin ich überall zuhause. Ich bin gespannt, dieses neue Zuhause kennenzulernen!