Arrived

Well, I have made it safely to Germany. Not just safely, but very well taken care of on the way. My flight on Air India, after all the boo hoo's, was maybe the best flight I have taken. Although the plane was a little older that is what gave it character. Our flight attendants wore saris, my fellow passengers were very quite travelers, and the food was the best airplane food I have had. The flight was far from full as well so after dinner I went to the back and took up a four seated row to myself to make a bed and Ryan had one to himself as well. Not bad.

Lugging my two bags around the train station and finding them a spot on the trains wasn't fun, but it got done and we didn't miss any connections making it on time to Münster. Johanna (my new roommate) was there waiting for us and took us off to get food before dropping us off at a friends flat where we will be staying for a week until I can move into my place. The flat isn't far from where I was the last time I was here, so I took a little walk to test and refresh my memory about what could be found along the main street and how to get to Johanna's place.

Ryan discovered he has hay fever and so passed out around 5:00 p.m. I forced myself to stay awake until 9:00 so I could more easily get used to the time difference. I think it worked.... I ended up sleeping until 10:00 a.m. which was very needed. I hadn't slept very well for over a week.

Both Ryan and I walked over to Johanna's for breakfast which was lovely. My first look at my new home....that really helped it sink in some. I will be excited when I get to really move in there next week.

Johanna turned out to be our saving grace. Aside from picking us up and finding a place for us to stay for our week of homelessness she had a whole system set up when we arrived to hunt for an apartment for Ryan. Armed with two NaDann's (like a craigslist for Münster but in print), some highlighters, paper, and a phone we started looking for potential roommates. Johanna called everyone and set up appointments for us to go see places then even went to a few with us. It was fun looking around and at a few, without Johanna there, it forced me to use my German. Some people got wide eyes and nervous smiles when they heard Ryan spoke no German yet. Others got very excited at the thought of a foreigner as a roommate and that they would be able to practice English with him.

After an all day hunt and a lot of walking Ryan got a place. It was the last one we looked at (at 8:00 P.M.) and they called us the same evening. Originally he would have been able to move in until the 15th of May, but they arranged it so he could move in on the first because they liked him so much.

This transition, so far, has been so easeful. It feels as though everything is falling into place gracefully and makes me think that, yes, I have made the right decision here. It feels nice to to have no plans, no things I have to do. I have time to make all my arrangements and whatnot. This weekend I will call Annerie, a friend from my last visit, who has some work opportunities for Ryan and I. I will explore this city. I will, I hope, buy a bicycle. And I will celebrate my birthday. Woohoo!