Hey this is Paul again, what a surprise! This post will be a bit longer, hope you'll enjoy reading it (or feel free to use it to fall asleep!)
To get things started: My first one and a half days here at the other side of the world were super-exciting and sooo much fun.
Right away I realized that I love the US, a few minutes before I landed in Baltimore. I stepped out of the plane and had a really strange feeling but it was all good but I can't describe it. The atmosphere is completely different to what I am used to in Germany. Everybody is friendly and you get greetings and good luck wishes from everyone, even when they don't know you. I walked right into the checkpoint at the airport and the things that came to my mind were like: "Where do I have to go? Are they waiting for me inside? Where is my suitcase?" But then suddenly the question from an officer who checked my visa shook me up:
"Do you have any supporting documents with you? Otherwise I can't grant you a full year stay in the US."
Wow. Shiat. I "forgot" my letters and documents who proved that I am needed here @L'arche for a whole year. I went to a different office with an officer who signed my visa and approved it for six months. In the upcoming months I have to ask for permission to stay another six months (which is actually not very hard, those incidents happen all the time). Simon, a mid-40 guy from London who got here to L'arche a few weeks back and volunteers here just like me got the same problem, so we are going to apply for the full year in August or September together.
Whatever.
But that's it. No more troubles, everything went fine. Sara, an assistant from Germany who will be here for 10 days now after staying a whole year and Franny(Francene), a so called "core family member" (at L'arche we call the people we care for, the people with specials needs and disabilities "core members", they picked me up yesterday evening at 6pm Eastern time. The first thing we did was having refreshment with a coke and something to eat at Subways. Yeah, right. The first thing I did in America was going to a well known fast food restaurant. That was exactly like I imagined it to be. It is just so big here!
Finally arriving at the 6th street house in Arlington after driving past three different states(Maryland, DC, Virginia) I received a nice and warm welcome by all the members that'll live with me together. We sat down and started some nice conversations but as you maybe have expected, the jetlag got me. I am actually still really, really tired because I am not used to travel that far. The two nights before the last one I combined for six hours because I was so excited and then 26 hours awake.
After getting up in the morning I started looking around in the house and building relationships with all the people here. At the moment we are living in this big house with 13(!!) people including four core members, Francene(the fine girl who picked me up from the airport BWI), Charles, Bruce and Eva. They are all lovely and it is great to live and work with them. I like them already after one day of speaking to them. Today we picked up some thai food and ordered pizza at diner with a nice bowl of salad. I experienced so much today I don't know where to start.
I probably should stop writing right now before it gets out of hand, but I just have to tell you everything!
The most important thing is that I got directly included in the community, or how we call it at 6th street house: in the family. If one says "core member" Charles is coming up insisting that it is called "core family member" because, yes, we are a family. I really like that, just being a part of the whole thing here. My supervisors are called Matt and Eva Elizabeth, I will get to now her next week because she is on vacation right now.
I got a meeting with Luke this afternoon at 5 pm, a guy who did a big part in recruiting me for L'arche. He provided me first information about my schedule and about the first three months, the time in which I am going to be "worked in". I have to fill out like a billion sheets and make a TB test at the clinic and go to meetings about "Human rights" and waaaaait a second. I forgot to mention that after being in the US for maybe 15 hours I had the opportunity to drive! I had to do a driving test with the big van that we use here. Michelle, a new assistant had to do this driving test so I was asked if I wanted to come with her and Don, a supervisor, because I had to do the test anyway. Driving here is really weird sometimes, like you are allowed to turn right even when the light is red and says "you better stay where you at, dawg!". You can wait till it turns green if you want, but then the car behind you starts to get angry so I will have to get used to that.
Yeeeah at first I wanted to write even more about this trip but right now I am so tired that I have to pass it away this time. I'll hang in here tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to make sure you can catch up with my experience over here. I just need to take a long nap after this day being exhausting and all.
Under consideration that I will live here a full year (if the fancy guys from the government will grant me another six months..) it's best if I stop here. I have plenty of time to make pictures and to write about every core member.
Hope you catch up reading and that I do not scare you away with these long posts.
Ok I nearly forgot to explain the heading. "Once upon a time.." is a little game we played here after our diner today. Every day we share diner together at 6pm. At L'arche community it is a rule to pray before and after diner, but at 6th Street the people are getting really creative with it so mostly it is not the fold-your-hands-and-pray kinda thing, it is more about sitting and being together and enjoying and laughing together. I had a great time so far and I think it won't change that quickly.
See you soon and greetings from Arlington!
