Friday, December 31, 2010

Long Journey, New Beginning



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The trip here is always long but well worth it. Here is Dean's synopsis of our travels...
  • Got on the road 45 minutes late.
  • We were dropped off at O'Hare's international terminal 5. After our ride left we realized that Lufthansa flies out of Terminal 1.
  • Our flight was delayed 1 hour leaving because of the plane getting there late.
  • Morgan was the only one to sleep on the plane.
  • We arrived in Dusseldorf 1 hour late, but were stuck on the plane an extra 30 minutes because the jetway was frozen. 
  • We had to go through a second security check in Dusseldorf that we didn't know about. Of course, we had water bottles from the airplane and nowhere to dump the water. Lauren found a trashcan, which irritated the security guard a bit.
  • We got to our connection just as they started boarding, but we're delayed 45 minutes because of a problem with the plane's computer.
We arrived about 2pm local time, 7am CST. Sara, a friend of MaLuz, along with MaLuz and Izar met us at the airport to take us to our new home. No rest for the weary as we started to unpack. They had kindly prepared a lunch for us of tortilla patata, sandwiches and salad. It was perfect after a long flight and lots of sitting.

The girls managed to find enough energy to go ice skating. Skates here are all rentals. You pay at a kiosk, get a ticket with your "ice time" on it and when it is your turn to skate for an hour they give you the skates and a special plastic disposable sock to put on. A bit different from what we are used to in the states.

While the girls were skating MaLuz and I did a little grocery shopping and got a few items to start filling our flat.

I don't know how we would have ever done it without all the help we have received from friends and my exchange family. We will be forever grateful for all they have done for us.

2 comments:

  1. Best wishes with your transition to your new lives there. I look forward to reading about your experiences and the girls' perspectives on it all.
    This blog makes you feel a little less far away.

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  2. Sounds like your family is ready for this adventure of a lifetime! Thanks for the blog too for keeping us updated. And thanks for the ice skating memory-----it was the same when I was a student on exchange in Northern France.

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