On the long-awaited journey

When you're on the road for so long, you have plenty of time to observe people and contemplate. I was on the move for almost 24 hours, as I didn't have a direct flight and had to wait for my flight at three airports. Taking into account the 9-hour time difference. During this time, you can do many things. I read, but I also observed people. It was interesting. Most people were calm, composed, and saying goodbye to their loved ones in front of customs. Some had to hold back tears. But after customs, everyone leisurely makes their way to the gates, unless they're running late because there are many people at customs and the connecting flight only waits for a certain amount of time. Some sleep, others read, and still others converse with familiar and unfamiliar people. No one is loud, except for toddlers when they cry. That didn't bother me. But what goes on in people's minds? You often see it in their facial expressions. Some are serious, others are looking forward to their own adventure. I felt the same way. And that's what I want to talk about here.

At the gates in Zurich during check-in, a young man approached me and asked me, who doesn't know much about flying, how the zones work. We both had Zone 4. I realized that this was the boarding order. We were among the last. I took Bärni, that was his name, with me during transfers, as he was flying for the very first time to visit his sister. It was an interesting encounter. Especially since it was my first time having to transfer flights and being allowed to explore everything. In Amsterdam, although we had 1 hour to transfer, the flight was on time, but we had to go through customs and there were so many people that we almost missed our flight. But we made it. When checking in, I had to go to the officer because something was unclear. I immediately realized why: when typing all the documents in Zurich, I inadvertently swapped two numbers from the EdA ID and couldn't delete them anymore. The officer noticed this mistake immediately and let me through without any problems. He asked me why I was glowing. I told him that I was looking forward to the "vacation" (if you can call learning a language a vacation). When I arrived in Edmingten, I had to take my luggage off the conveyor belt and go through customs. Then put it back on a conveyor belt and go through customs again with all the checks. Then I got a little hungry.

I had a burger and told the waitress that I wanted to pay in cash. She brought the bill, but didn't collect the payment. After about 10 minutes, I contacted her again and she said I was paying in cash. Ok, she would do it. So I probably should have paid at a different place. But since I have trouble communicating due to my lack of English, I didn't ask her about the correct procedure. After all, that's why I'm here.

On the last flight over the Rocky Mountains, I had a window seat again, and I was looking forward to the view. Unfortunately, it was obscured by clouds. On the individual flights, I tried to talk to my seat neighbors. I succeeded a little, until, as expected, I ran out of words, even to describe the actual word.

In Victoria, my personal driver was already waiting, who drove me directly to the host family. The drive took about 30 minutes and the conversation in the car was a bit bumpy, but it worked. When I arrived at the host family, I was warmly welcomed and shown everything important for tonight. Since I was on the move for almost 24 hours, I went to bed at 8:00 PM local time. Now at 2:00 AM, I'm awake and can write the blog.

During the flight over the landscape at an altitude of over 10,000 m, I once again realized that everything becomes very small. The higher the plane flies, the smaller everything becomes and the structures blend together until you see a big picture of everything. It looks very impressive.

Even the mountains of the Rocky Mountains became small. I had the thought that mountains are like obstacles in our lives. Sometimes big and insurmountable in the moment. But if you change your perspective, like looking at everything from above, they become small and can even reveal something beautiful. It depends on how you approach things. I'm glad I don't have to tackle them alone.