The trip to the states
Surprisingly I was able to sleep the entire night instead of waking up every 5 seconds in terror thinking I would have forgotten something.
7a.m: ‘Holy Sh*t, we’re leaving…’
8a.m: Jan’s parents are here ready to take us to the airport. We say goodbye to Walter, it is going to be weird not to see him for 7 months! Time to hug him, so he knows he is important to us and that we will miss him.
8:15 a.m: car is packed and we quickly need to run by the bank… Forgot to activate our new cards, hope this is the only thing we forgot.
8:45 a.m: Arrived at Zaventem, OK everything is different, why do we get lost at Zaventem everytime we go there? Still have plenty of time though. Making random squeeks of excitement.
8:50 a.m: We are inside the building. Instead of making life easy on us and taking the elevator, Jan wants to take the escallator, with our 2 huge bags (20 and 23kg). First one is fine, second one is broken. Stubborn as he is he climbs up.
9 a.m: bags are checked, time for a small breakfast and the last moments with the family before we leave. So certain my mom will cry.
9:30 a.m: Time to go through the barriers to the security check. As predicted my mom is choking back tears. ‘No I’m not crying, I will see you on friday!’ I know we’ll be seeing you then, your tearducts don’t seem to though. Don’t worry mom we’ll be fine.
10 a.m: already made it through all the security checkpoints. Now waiting begins.
10:15 a.m: Jan: ‘Do you think I’ll be able to find a Belgian flag here?’
10:35 a.m: yes he can! “Stole” one that was reserved for a collegue, BELGIUM REPRESENT!
11:05 a.m: boarding has started! It’s getting real now! Time to settle in for the long flight and watch some movies.
3:15 p.m (local time): Arrived in Washington D.C. Time to go through the next security check. Easy peasy, except that I’m selected for a “random” extra baggage check. Nothing to find however, except if Bruscetta herbs and kippenkruiden are illegal here.
5 p.m: Time for the next flight, officially almost “home”.
7 p.m: Arrival in Charleston Airport, take a shuttle to get the key to our new “home”.
8 p.m: Can’t seem to contact Antonio, no idea on which appartment is his. Damn it craigslist. Guess we start knocking on every door. After 5 minutes of knocking and calling out Antonio’s name we find him. Off to 930 NoMo.
8:15 p.m: Arrived at 930NoMo, damn that is a big building. Luckily a nice night security guard is present to help us found our appartment.
8:20 p.m: Guess this is our home for the next 4 months. Bathroom needs desperate cleaning, but the room is big enough. Bed is 3 times higher than we are used to.
9 p.m: we are completely installed time for exploring. The building has a small fitness center, a club house we have not been able to get into. On our floor there is a lounge deck, and the swimming pool. Can’t wait for the weather to get warmer and take a dip. There is a cycle center on the 1st floor (groundfloor) with vending machines for emergency drinks and food (nothing healthy). The rest is for another day. The shared rooms (living and kitchen) are big enough and it becomes immediatly clear that we are living with 3 other guys. The walls is plastered with beer commercials, we will get along with these people.
Nighty night guys.
Jaana
First post… :p