So the journey began Tuesday morning as I arrived at the airport as Mom dropped me off. A few tears trickled down as a swarm of reality and nerves suddenly hit me. I had left my Mom, Dad, family, pup, friends, and America for the entire summer! However, a very sweet lady behind the check-in counter saw my nerves as I approached barely even able to articulate my destination. She saw my destination and started telling me all about how she had gone to Israel before. She never said she was a believer, but it was just one of those moments where you just know your soul is at peace with another. She was so excited for me asking a few brief questions about this amazing opportunity. This calmed my anxiousness. Immediately, I knew the Lord was leading me and I had nothing to fear; I simply needed to follow His lead. Only adrenaline and anxiousness filled me for the rest of the trip. I have complete faith and peace after this.
Security and navigation through airports was a breeze. God provided peace and guidance through employees when navigation got a bit tricky. Going back out of security to go back through security was new to me. I have always been told to stay inside security between flights. European security guards/employees are very welcoming and friendly though. Americans are quite hurried, less patient people. Riding all the public transportation was thrilling to me, getting to see so many international people!
The first flight I rode next to a dear lady that squeezed my leg twice when turbulence got rough. She told me all about her three children and how she wished they would have gone to serve in another country. All of her kind words, again, were God speaking to me letting me know that He indeed had brought me to Europe this summer. On my long flight I sat next to a German man who slept the whole time which allowed me to watch movies and read peacefully. With such excitement, I only slept one hour on my flight. On the last flight, I sat next to a Polish man who tried so hard to talk to me despite the language barrier. Lots of hand signals and pointing was involved. I believe he and his wife fly often and always get aisle sits across from each other. He tried to welcome me to Poland, and he informed me that he was getting sick too when the plane went in circles waiting to land.
International flights feed you so well. I had so much tea and many delightful pastries. Also, I was offered alcohol about five times that day as well as being served a large dinner and breakfast. Europeans drink much more alcohol than we do.
I actually met up with a few other JV interns in Newark. I saw two different guys that looked like JV candidates. I approached both and they were. So the three of us chatted for about 3 hours waiting for our plane. Also, we added three more interns to our gang as we landed in Germany. None of us sat together in any flight though. We never had to go through customs, but I did get my very first stamp in my passport! I was so proud!
Finally, we arrived in Krakow, Poland at 9am local time.
No comments:
Post a Comment