After 2 weeks in the U.S., the sense of strangeness has worn off.
I notice how easy things seem here. I’m able to get in the car and drive without consulting a map. I know where to go without thinking about it. I speak without having to stop and think about what words to use.
The first few weeks in Germany – maybe even longer – everything felt difficult. Even the simplest things such as buying a loaf of bread seemed difficult. I felt lost most of the time and was constantly stopping to look at maps. This was at the same time stimulating and tiring.
The sense of the familiar seems quite powerful. I’ve come to the conclusion that becoming comfortable with living in Germany is a simple matter of time and exposure. There’s nothing magical about it.
It now feels odd to be going back to Germany, and I’m curious about how it will seem when I arrive.
For unknown reasons, my flight to Newark seems to be about the only flight out of Cleveland that is significantly delayed. Maybe because of weather problems elsewhere, but I also suspect that the airlines like to blame weather because then they are not responsible for finding another flight.
If I take the flight, it’s possible I will miss the connecting flight to Cologne. I think that no matter which decision I make it will be the wrong one. If I take the flight, I’ll probably miss the connection and have to spend the night in Newark. If I don’t take it, I’ll probably come home to find out they delayed the flight in Newark.
This is like always picking what seems to be the slowest line at the grocery store.
I decide the safest option is to reschedule the flight. Surprisingly it works out this time. The flight leaves over 5 hours late and misses the connection to Germany. I would have spent about 20 hours in Newark.
I’ve now got two extra days home. Unfortunately I think I’ve used up my one good decision outcome.
3 comments:
Believe being stuck in Newark is no place to be. When I worked in the paper industry I travelled a fair amount and got stuck in the Newark airport for over 12 hours. People were laying on the floors, chairs, stairs just about everywhere. I found a nice spot on the floor and slept for a while waiting for the weather to lift. I think you made a wise choice in skipping that fiasco!!!
yes, no doubt it was a good decision. my karma then spread to Tris, who got stranded 2 days later in Madison :-)
Yes, and what a joy that was.
Flight was supposed to depart at 3:55pm. First, the jetway won't move, so that delays us for about 30 minutes before they decide that we can just walk on the tarmac and board via stairs. Duh.
Then, the plane develops engine problems. Fortunately, they figured that out before we boarded. Unfortunately, it meant another - much longer - delay.
The mechanic needs a part that they don't have on hand and it has to be delivered on another flight due to arrive at 9:30pm. 9:30!
To top it off, the pilot times out at just after 11pm. This means that if they can't get the engine fixed in time to take off prior to that, he can't fly the plane. Yeesh.
Sharon & I opt to take the dinner and hotel voucher and stay the night. Dinner sucked and the HoJo wasn't much better.
The next day, we learn that they decided to just fly the plane to CLE that had brought the part needed to fix the other plane. So it took off at about 9:45pm. DOH!
Oh well, we got home eventually.
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