Realization

This past Friday five of us went on an adventure to Kassel, which is about a three hour train ride outside of Dortmund, to see the Brothers Grimm museum. Shenanigans ensued and I’m pretty sure a good time was had by all, but I’m not really interested in telling you all about the trip. More important was the ride home. The funny part is, I’m positive that it only held such great significance for me, and it was an experience full of vibrant colors. One thing I noticed is that everything is significantly greener here than it is at home because Germany is not in a constant drought like East Tennessee. Also, on the way home, we saw an amazing sunset, along with a full, beautiful rainbow, and then I sat, staring out of the window as the light was fading from the sky and settling in a haze of pink and orange on the horizon. It was peaceful and beautiful. I looked around me and saw my four fellow travelers, all Americans: reading, listening to music, drinking various juices as well as Ouzo, and I felt at home for the first time since I arrived in Germany. I often find my heart longing for the mountains of East Tennessee and for the people there whom I love and who support me, and before Friday, I could honestly say that I would be perfectly happy going home, but this was the first time that I realized that leaving Germany will be difficult—the first time that I realized that pieces of my heart lay in different cities throughout Europe and in the hands of people that were complete strangers to me two months ago. I looked at my fellow travelers and saw people that I loved, people that I never wanted to leave, people who made the difficult days in Germany bearable and the good days in Germany wonderful. Germany is no longer some far away, unobtainable goal that I’ve had for years, it is my home, and these people here, with whom I have these crazy adventures, they are my family. So there I sat, with tears brimming in my eyes, staring out of the window somewhere between Warburg and Soest, knowing that my life was permanently changed. And the train kept moving…