9 hour flight and I'm feeling fine!

I left the Orlando airport after a three day trip to Disney World with Andrew. To start, we got to the airport and checked my luggage that I had unpacked and re-packed a thousand times to make sure there weren't too many clothes and that it wasn't overweight.  As it turned out, my luggage was 10 pounds too heavy. I said goobye to my curling iron and several pairs of shoes. The kind Lufthansa representative told me to take a few things out and they would re-weigh it. Long story short, my luggage was still to much after two times of re-weighing it.  I broke down and cried like a baby. While Andrew was trying to calm me down, the kind airline lady came over and whispered to me "If you have another bag out in your car, I can allow you another another checked bag free." I transferred some items to another bag and voila! My luggage was accepted.

Andrew and I said our goodbyes before I went through security. The rest of the way to my gate was a breeze. I made my last few American phone calls before boarding.  When I spoke with my mom, she was even more emotional than I was and that put me at ease. I saw the same airline representative that had allowed me the free bag before I boarded the plane. I thanked her excessively and she just smiled. If it hadn't been for her my sweaters and hair dryer never would have made it to Germany.

My flight was fantastic. Lufthansa puts all American airlines to shame. The food was good, the alcohol was free, and economy class was like first. Not to mention they spoke perfect English (mostly because my German is rubbish). The movie selection was limited. I can't believe I admitting this, but I watched the Disney movie "Prom" that is basically like High School Musical without the music. I felt ashamed until I looked over and saw that an old German couple was watching the same movie and laughing hysterically.

When the plane approached landing, I noticed all of the beautiful German towns surrounding Frankfurt. It was already so different from the way the U.S. cities are set up. In America there is the sprawl effect with our big cities making their way out to smaller suburbs and eventually smaller towns. In Germany there are big cities, but then villages. The villages all looked similar with a cathedral in the center of town and a shopping area. The houses extend out from there to form a neat little clumps of towns with scenic forests, hills, and mountains in between. I was already jumping out of my seat with excitement.  Then the stewardess shot me an a panicked look and I calmed down a bit.

I landed and got my luggage and miraculously none of it had been lost. My host dad (Michael) picked me up from the airport. We drove for about fifteen minutes to their house in a charming town called Oberursel. We pulled up to the big yellow house and he said, "we're home." I initially felt panicked. "Home?" I said to myself. Home is 4900 miles away..I am simply visiting. Then I felt comforted and realized I was indeed home, and they made me feel such.

My host mom (Carola) gave me a tour of the house. She already told me what she wanted me to do around the house and what was expected of me. I think my "working" started right when I walked through the door! I have an entire floor of the house to myself. Sure the walls are slanted and I have already bumped my head twice, but it has character.

Now we are waiting for the kids to arrive and then we will all have lunch together. We are having pasta and the weather is beautiful.We visit Bad Homburg tomorrow which is an old spa town that the Romans established long ago.

Must...fight...jet lag. Keep my eyes open. Thank goodness Germans drink coffee!

New home in Oberursel, Germany in the village of Bommersheim